


Tears Falling Down at the Party

by Shubear420



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hospitals, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Parties, he keeps going to other people but ends up going back to hajime every time, idk why we used hajime for his ship, korekiyo is hot, korekiyo is still the weird neighbor with hajime, relationship issues (not shuichi and kokichi), shuichi is worried about his boyfriend, we hate sonia sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-05-20 13:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19377322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shubear420/pseuds/Shubear420
Summary: The perfect Danganronpa fic: a Minecraft server, a mysterious medical condition, and one very fed up Korekiyo next door.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (A\N) There are two active writers behind this account.
> 
> writer taka writes in all lowercase letters 
> 
> Writer Korekiyo uses normal capitalization.
> 
> there will be more chapters in the future.

Shuichi curiously looked around at the realm of blocks and cube-shaped animals around him. He had been approached by a group of students from school with a request to join their Minecraft server. Some were a few years above him, a few were underclassmen, but one of his rambunctious classmates in his grade stuck out to him in particular.

His name was Kokichi Oma. He was of short stature and spoke with little respect for those around him and carried with him a rather foul first impression. From what Shuichi could tell, he was someone of high seniority within the little Minecraft group. It appeared he was responsible for creating profiles for those who joined. After all, Shuichi would not expect the others to give him the name Shubear. 

With a sigh, Shuichi guided his character over to a small house placed within a small clearing of the landscape around him. There were five other avatars waiting for him there at a sign that read: Welcome to the server. 

One of the group members whose skin remained the default Steve option piped up; hence, breaking Shuichi out of his trance. “Welcome to our own little virtual realm!” enthusiastically greeted a player by the name of ISHIMARU. Shuichi smiled, though he didn’t know Taka extremely well, he could tell it was exactly the type of name he would’ve chosen. Simple and straight to the point, Shuichi made a note to himself before looking to the others gathered around him. 

Next to Taka’s avatar stood someone with a frightening skin resembling a skeleton. “Motorcycle Man . . . ?” Shuichi said over his microphone awkwardly. The voice behind the avatar laughed boisterously.

“Mondo! I thought I instructed you to choose a different outfit for your character!” Taka exclaimed. “You do not appear to be very approachable or hospitable when you are dressed as such!” He ranted with vigor.

Mondo laughed once more, “First of all, it’s called a skin, babe. Second, I’m sure it’s fine.” Taka let out only a sound that resembled both a frustrated huff and a muffled angry scream. 

Shuichi paused and lifted his hands from his controller to ponder the situation before him. From Taka’s ‘old married wife’ disposition against Mondo and Mondo’s usage of a non-platonic nickname suggested they were in a relationship. He thought he might’ve seen them holding hands a few times in the hall then and again, but he didn’t really know for sure. Shuichi made a mental note to pay closer attention next time he saw them.

“Can you guys cut out the whole lovey-dovey thing right now?” Another voice entered the space with an annoyed scoff. Soudapop420 obviously belonged to Kazuichi Souda who wielded a Sans the Skeleton look for his character. 

“Now, now, my paramour. You must admit we have acted quite the same within this virtual spirit world as well!” A booming voice gained the attention of everyone within the space. 

LordOfIce’s voice was rather identifiable. Gundham Tanaka was odd. His personality and speech patterns were unique and probably not shared with very many people around the world. Shuichi knew he had a fondness for hamsters, which was only strengthened by the presence of his character’s appearance akin to a hamster. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Souda’s voice carried a tone that made Shuichi feel as though he could see his blushing through the screen. 

Are they dating too? Shuichi thought to himself and sighed. It was beginning to seem like he was the only person who didn’t have some sort of companion with him, in game or in real life. He rotated around to introduce himself to the last person there. “A-Are you kidding, Kokichi?” Shuichi accidentally said a bit too loudly into the microphone.

Cockitchy69. The man could have picked any other given name in the universe and he chose his alias to be . . . Cockitchy69. His skin was tailored to look just like him, down to the minor details of his everyday, gaudy outfit. 

Kokichi let out a snort, “What? Something the matter?” 

Shuichi groaned and shook his head.

“Now then! Let us begin the quest for materials to build our new member a proper home!” Taka announced, beginning to lead the group to some unknown location. 

Shuichi had a feeling he would gain a strong connection to the server, even if it was only a silly pastime

____________________________________________________________________________

Sure enough the Minecraft server had become a major aspect of his life. It became the place where he met his closest group of friends and his boyfriend. Somehow behind the twisted plot of fate, the foul-mouthed Cockitchy69 had fallen in love with Shubear over the course of a year and a half. 

Shuichi stopped his reminiscing as he felt a sudden pressure on his back. Kokichi was leaning against him and performing his usual charade of acting like a child. 

“Shubear, come swim with me. I promise it’ll be fun.” He whispered with a sultry tone to his voice. Shuichi swallowed a lump in his throat. Of course he was excited to be on a date with his lover, but the idea of exposing himself to people there, some of them which he knew, absolutely terrified him. 

He supposed wearing his shirt into the pool would just have to suffice. 

Shuichi followed Kokichi into the water, his cheeks burning along with the tips of his ears. How embarrassing.

Shuichi slowly waded into the deeper part of the pool, allowing his lover to cling to his back. His said lover was wearing floaties around his upper arms. His short height often bound him to a child’s perspective of the world. Examples being that he could not ride on most roller coasters or that the deep end of a public pool was a foreign wasteland the likes of which he could never join the ranks of. 

Shuichi treaded the chlorine ridden water with Kokichi still nuzzling himself into his back. Shuichi’s eyes glanced around the pool looking for traces of familiar faces that cause trouble or try to approach him. 

He spotted Kiyotaka and Mondo in the deep end of the germ-infested water from his stagnant place with Kokichi. The two were circling around each other, Taka leaning into Mondo’s shoulder with a blush that could put every shade of red to shame. 

Shuichi shook his head and sighed continuing his search around the public pool’s perimeter. Kazuichi and Gundham were in lounging chairs, their bickering could be heard even from the ten foot distance to the pool. Those two are really something else, Shuichi hummed to himself.

Suddenly, a familiar, deafening scream broke Shuichi from his trance.” Ew, OMG!” Kokichi dramatically gasped, his hands flying to his cheeks for effect. “That kid sooo just peed in the pool!” He exclaimed especially loud to alert everyone to the new development. 

The kid in question was a toddler who was beginning to bawl in embarrassment. Shuichi grimaced as parents of children began to glare at him as if he was responsible for Kokichi’s actions. 

Kokichi began to spout his signature cackle while Shuichi turned to glare at the other man. Shuichi began to crawl out of the pool and on to the metal stairs.

“Shubear! You can’t just leave me in here. Peeing in the pool is gross.”

Shuichi’s cheeks were flushed. He looked as if he were the one to pee in the pool. “Get out with me then! I’m not staying in that germ infested water any longer.”

From across the pool, Shuichi could see the disgusted look on Taka’s face as he practically jumped out of the water and onto the concrete. 

Gundham and Souda has paused their bickering to look over at all the commotion. Souda looked terrified, and Gundham looked shocked. 

Kokichi climbed up the ladder, his wet hands slapping the concrete to pull himself up and out of the water. 

“Shubear, are we going home? It didn’t gross you out that much did it?” He asked, striding over to the lounge chairs that they had claimed when they arrived. 

Shuichi shrugged one of his shoulders, following the plum-haired boy. “We don’t have to go home, I guess. I would prefer not getting in the pool again, though,” he mumbled, “‘cause . . . that’s gross.”

“Well it’s not my fault that little germsack doesn’t have a big boy bladder!” Kokichi whined, the noise tearing up Shuichi’s eardrums. He grimaced.

Shuichi sat on the lounge chair across from his beloved. “You can go back in the pool, I don’t care. I’m just not going in with you.” He stated, wringing out his shirt of the water. 

“But it’s no fun without my Shubear.” Kokichi pouted, crocodile tears shimmering in his eyes as he stuck out his bottom lip. Although those tears were fake, Shuichi felt a pang of guilt.

“I’m sorry, Kokichi. Go swim with some of our other friends that are here. I thought I saw Korekiyo buying some drinks when we got here.” 

Kokichi grimaced. “That guy’s weird,” he spat, “what would we even talk about? His sister?” 

“Be nice, Kokichi. He’s our neighbor. Our weird neighbor, but our neighbor.” 

From a few feet away someone cleared their throat. Turning around, Shuichi cringed as he noticed the sound had radiated from Kiyo himself who was sipping some tropical drink with a slightly offended look. 

“Ooh . . . that’s not good.” Kokichi smirked, looking at Shuichi as his smirk contorted into a grin. 

“Let’s go.” Shuichi gulped.

“Agreed!”

Carrying his and Kokichi’s shared, checker-print beach bag to his car, Shuichi tried his best to not meet Korekiyo’s disapproving glare. 

The car ride home carried only more burdening silence as a faint smell of urine lingered in the air. Am I subconsciously smelling it? Shuichi pondered with a shiver. Finally after what seemed like a horrifyingly long time, they reached their apartment complex where a shower awaited them and no eyes were peering in. 

“That was fun!” Kokichi cackled twistedly, flopping down on their sofa and rolling round.

“K-Kokichi! You’re going to make the couch smell like pee- . . . Oh nevermind, do what you want, I don’t care.”


	2. Arcade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Kokichi go to the arcade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Thanks for almost 100 hits!

Shuichi tightened his grip on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white and his eyebrows furrowed. “Kokichi, I’m trying not to get us killed!”

Kokichi had his left hand resting on Shuichi’s thigh, his eyes fluttering as he looked at the side of his boyfriend’s head. 

They were heading to an arcade to meet up with their friends and have a good time. Kokichi wasn’t particularly excited about the whole scenario. When Shuichi had knocked on Korekiyo’s door and asked him if he wanted to go too, Korekiyo stared at him for a long moment and slammed the door in his face. 

I think Taka invited everyone to come, thought Shuichi as they pulled into the parking lot of the arcade.

Kokichi whined, his hand traveling up to his lover’s arm. “I don’t wanna be here, Shubear! I just wanna have fun.” He murmured in an alluring tone, the corners of his mouth rising up to form a smirk. 

“Kokichi, I swear to God. If you plan on antagonizing some poor children, then you can go ahead and walk yourself right home.” Shuichi groaned, fixing a few loose strands of his hair and straightening his jacket.

“Aww . . . you’re so mean sometimes!” Kokichi teased. Shuichi sighed and unclipped his seatbelt. He exited the car and begrudgingly waited for his boyfriend to join him at his side. The two entered the arcade with two complete opposite mindsets towards the situation. 

Kokichi seemed like he was in a wonderland. His eyes were glowing with both hints of mischievous and pure intentions. He was twirling around and cackling at various things, pointing out their hilarity to Shuichi even when he didn’t understand.

Shuichi, however, seemed nervous and agitated. He was playing with the hem of his collar, fixing the watch on his wrist, and playing with his fingers and hands. His eyes were tense, his eyebrows furrowed as he scanned the arcade for any hint of his friends. When his eyes finally reached them, he seemed to brighten up with the revelation. 

They were sitting at one of the booths. Shuichi cringed. The booths at arcades were always unhygienic and had this feel to the seats that made him feel like he was enveloped in sticky plastic.

Swallowing his pride, Shuichi encompassed Kokichi’s hand in his own and ventured off towards the booth.

Taka was twiddling his thumbs and looking especially concerned. “We ordered our meal exactly fifteen minutes ago! By policy, it should have arrived by now!” He exclaimed with a bitter growl. 

Mondo sighed. He wrapped his arm around Taka’s shoulder and held him close. “ ‘s fine, babe. You should be glad it hasn’t arrived yet. It woulda been cold by time the others came.” He shrugged and planted a kiss on Taka’s scalp, making the shorter man blush and shy away from the subject.

“You two seriously need to quit actin’ like that!” Souda yelled, steam practically blowing out of his ears. He looked annoyed, his foot tapping against the worn carpet floors to an excessively quick rhythm. His counterpart seemed calm though.

Gundham was leaning back, his hands crossed in front of his chest and a single eyebrow perked in a somewhat cocky disposition. “Allow me to ask of you to provide me some enlightenment, what is wrong with their so-called ‘public displays of affection’, Kazuichi?”

Kazuichi scoffed and looked away from Gundham. “I swear, sometimes you’re even worse than them.” He muttered.

Gundham chuckled and placed a tender kiss on Souda’s hand. “Perhaps, but you continue to stay by my side, my paramour. Consequently, you must still be able to endure me at least partially, correct?”

“Hey guys.” Shuichi greeted with a curt nod, squeezing into the booth next to Gundham. 

“Hey . . . I want to sit by my Shubear!” Kokichi whined, stomping his foot and pouting like an upset child.

“Ah, sorry Kokichi. I’m afraid you’re just going to have to sit across-”

Shuichi was cut off by his own yelp as Kokichi plopped himself onto Shuichi’s lap. “Hmm . . . no.”

“Order number 21?” A voice peeked into the conversation with a tone of discomfort. 

“K-Korekiyo!” Shuichi gasped.

Sure enough the ‘weird neighbor’ was dressed up in the foolishly designed uniform of the arcade workers. A bright striped shirt with a simple name tag and a large sticker of the cartoon mascot of the arcade. 

“Larry. U. Lactose?” Kokichi smirked. 

“Please, just take the pizza,” Korekiyo exasperatedly said, “I already bear the burden of living in the same complex as you.” 

“Why are you working here, don’t you have that job at the museum?” Souda asked disinterestedly.

“Ah yes, but the anthropology business is dwindling. The few jobs that are still left hardly provide adequate benefits and pay. Believe me, if I could escape this hellhole I would in a heartbeat.”

They received the cheesy, mildly suspicious pizza with open arms. 

“Hey, Shubear, can I see your wallet?” Shuichi looked up to Kokichi still sitting in his lap with concern. 

“Why would you need to-”

“Nevermind, I snatched it while you were talking! Anyways, time to buy us some tokens!” Kokichi cackled, rushing over to the counter.

“Ah, Kokichi, wait!” Shuichi called after him, but it was too late.  
____________________________________________________________________________

Shuichi followed Kokichi around nervously, watching him play various games and win an abundance of tickets every time.

However, while this shenanigan continued, Shuichi noticed the various other couples who were there.

Kaito and Maki were playing some sort of racing game. Kaito seemed to becoming more and more upset though as Maki continued to beat him time and time again. 

Hajime was standing by Chiaki with a pleasant, proud expression as she beat virtual monsters left and right. 

Suddenly, Kokichi’s yelling broke him from his trance. “Hey Shuichi, come on! It’s prize time!” Kokichi spouted, making little jazz hands. Shuichi smiled and nodded, following is boyfriend to the prize counter where Korekiyo was stationed with a maniacal stare.

“You have collected four-hundred and seventy-five tickets. Whatever will you use them for?” Korekiyo hummed with a voice that suggested he was slightly impressed.

Kokichi hummed, and placed a finger to his chin and suddenly perked up as his eyes glided over something. 

“How much is the bear?” He demanded with a determined huff.

“Four hundred and fifty tickets, please.” Korekiyo sighed.

Kokichi cheered and handed over the tickets gleefully as he was awarded the hot pink colored, stuffed bear. 

“Here you are! A cute bear for my cute Shubear!” Kokichi exclaimed, causing Shuichi to burn up in a blush.

“Ah! Um… thank you, Kokichi.”

Kokichi grinned and grabbed Shuichi’s hand. “Come on, Shubear! I think we’ve done enough damage for one day!”

Shuichi walked to his car still clutching the bear to his chest. The gesture may be absurd, but coming from Kokichi it meant quite a lot. 

“Climb on in! I’m driving!” Kokichi giggled with a hint of mischief. 

Shuichi paused, looking at his boyfriend. “Uh, are you sure? You kinda look . . . pale.”

Shuichi was sure he saw Kokichi’s face flicker into something serious, but it was so quick he was sure he imagined it. “What? I’m fine!”

“. . . okay, only if you’re sure.” Shuichi said reluctantly.

“I’m sure. Plus, you’ve looked anxious and tense all day! Relax for a little.”

“Yeah . . . okay.” Shuichi smiled, his arms snaking around the bear just a little bit tighter.


	3. Sick

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at Kokichi from the kitchen. The plum-haired man was resting on their sofa, his complexion pale and his body shaking. Shuichi knew something was not right with his lover, but he accepted that Kokichi would never admit to being under the weather.

“It’s just a chill, Shubear.” He’d wave his hands and force a carny smile onto his face. Shuichi could only sigh and turn back to the grilled cheese he had cooking on the stove. After dealing with Kokichi’s constant swaying over the line of lies and the truth for a while, Shuichi grew quite confident in his deciphering of Kokichi’s words. 

Shuichi transferred the sandwiches onto a separate plate and carried them over to the coffee table. Resting next to Kokichi’s outstretched feet, Shuichi looked lovingly at his lover’s closed eyes and small breaths. Even as the grilled cheese began to chill, Shuichi was glad that Kokichi had fallen asleep. Maybe he will sleep off whatever he has, Shuichi hummed to himself.

Shuichi went to brush over Kokichi’s forehead and push away the sweaty hair that was sticking to it. That’s when he noticed just how hot Kokichi was. “A fever . . . ?” Shuichi whispered..

Shuichi shifted a little on the couch, his lips tilting down into a frown as he fidgeted with anything he could reach, and sweat began to form on his forehead. 

He spotted the hot pink stuffed bear Kokichi had bought for him, and reached for it. He squeezed it and hugged it, shifting closer to his darling. 

He knew that he shouldn’t worry too much, so he looked at Kokichi, dropping a hand down to his cheek and brushing more hair off of his hot forehead. His cheeks were flushed, but his body was trembling as if he were cold. 

Kokichi tensed for a second until Shuichi stroked his cheek, and he relaxed, even nuzzling more into the touch. Shuichi got up from the sofa only for Kokichi to wrap his hand around his wrist to restrain him from moving. “Where are you going?” He mumbled sleepily, trying to raise himself to a sitting position only to spark a coughing fit and fall back to laying down. 

“I’m going to the store to get you medicine. Your fever seems pretty high.” Shuichi soothed, running his thumb over the back of Kokichi’s hand. 

“M’kay . . . ” Kokichi hummed, turning over onto his side and yawning. Shuichi smiled and left to go retrieve his coat from their shared bedroom. He grabbed the keys to his car and his wallet before heading out the door, only pausing to stare at Kokichi for a few seconds to ensure he would be okay by himself. 

The drive to the nearest pharmacy was short and uncomfortable for Shuichi. He was trying to push any anxiety out of his mind, but he couldn’t help the twinges of fear he would experience when he thought of Kokichi still at home. Shuichi turned into the Walgreens parking lot and took a breath to collect himself. “It’s just buying some medicine, get a hold of yourself.” He muttered to himself, exiting his car and locking it. 

He walked through the sliding doors and immediately felt the anxiety in him start to bubble. Usually Kokichi came with him everywhere, he was hardly ever alone in a store ever since he found his boyfriend. 

The radio was echoing through the store, playing some song he knew Kokichi would probably be singing along and swinging his hips to if he were there. Shuichi pulled his ‘emo hat’ down, trying to sink into the environment around him and not provoke any social contact from anyone nearby. 

“Do you need help?” A croaking, soft voice broke him from his trance. It was Korekiyo again, but then again it always seemed like it was Korekiyo who would talk to him in public. 

“Erm . . . ” Shuichi stammered and began to fiddle with his hands rapidly. 

 

“Does he have a fever or perhaps he’s experiencing a bit of a . . . stomach issue?” Korekiyo hummed as his fingers danced over the bottles of medication. Shuichi pondered for a second how Kiyo even knew that it was Kokichi who was sick, but it simply blended into the other thoughts in his consciousness.

“A fever.” Shuichi meekly responded, his eyes drifting over to the handheld basket Korekiyo was carrying. It was filled with different teas and herbs along with a few bottles of modern medicine. He also was purchasing some flowers, the kind that were more depressing than uplifting and seemed to belong only in hospital rooms and funerals. 

 

“This should do. Give him a spoonful of this and enough liquids and he should be better by tomorrow.” Korekiyo sighed, walking off towards the checkout, signaling Shuichi to follow him. 

“You seem to know a lot about sickness, Kiyo.” Shuichi said, his hands digging in his back pocket for his wallet. 

“Ah, and how I wish I did not. I am afraid I have someone . . . very dear to me who has been suffering for quite some time.” 

Shuichi swallowed a knot in his throat. Kiyo was a silent neighbor. He never threw any parties, never invited anyone to come see him. Shuichi never even asked if he was doing alright let alone ask him anything personal. 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Shuichi could hear his own helplessness and emptiness in his condolences. 

Korekiyo paid silently and walked out of the door, not bothering to wave to Shuichi or say anything in return. Shuichi stepped up, the next person in line, and avoided eye contact with the cashier. 

He exited the Walgreens and climbed into his car, throwing the plastic bag into the passenger seat and letting a small sob escape his throat. “I’m such a coward! I can’t even go into a store by myself!” Shuichi sobbed, slamming his hands down onto the steering wheel. 

All he wanted was to go home and lay down with Kokichi. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Shuichi wiped the last of his tears from his bleary eyes, before unlocking the door to the apartment. “Hey Kokichi, I’m home.” Shuichi paused to take off his shoes and look around the room. The entrance to the apartment was decorated with various pictures of them and their adventures, including one that entailed Kokichi slamming a piece of pie into Shuichi’s face during his own birthday party. 

“Kokichi?” Shuichi entered the living room and froze. His heart was speeding up, his eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. He was shaking violently, his knees giving out on him as he fell to his knees. 

Kokichi was laying on the floor, his body limp and foam spilling from his mouth. “Kokichi!” Shuichi screamed. 

He threw himself to Kokichi’s side, turning him onto his side and checking for a pulse. Shuichi let out a cry of relief as he felt a weak thump against his hand from Kokichi’s wrist. 

Shuichi battled in his mind, trying to recall what to do in situations like this. “We need to get you to a hospital.” He said to Kokichi although no response came from him. 

Shuichi was not a strong person. He hardly could run a mile without being red in the face and panting and feeling as if he was going to die. Shuichi hoisted Kokichi into his arms bridal style, and struggled to kick open the door and grab his keys at the same time. 

“Come on, baby.” Shuichi whispered to Kokichi, desperately trying to walk down the stairs of the apartment complex without tripping. 

Shuichi laid Kokichi down in the passenger seat and fastened him in with the seatbelt before running around to the other side. 

He drove somewhat recklessly, going a few more miles over the speed limit than what he would usually do. Everytime they hit a red light he would be chanting and begging for it to turn green again. He was shaking, his world was crumbling. Kokichi was in the passenger seat unconscious.

Shuichi went to grab for Kokichi’s wrist again to check for a pulse, only to feel those familiar small fingers wrap around his. “Kokichi!” Shuichi looked away from the road to look at his boyfriend. Kokichi was wiping spit from his mouth and holding his head groaning. “What the f-”

“Shh . . . we’re almost there, sweetie.” Shuichi murmured, merging into the lane that led to the hospital parking lot. 

“This is so messed up.” Kokichi muttered as Shuichi flipped on his turn signal. 

“I know.”


	4. Cracking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi is home from the hospital. Shuichi is worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy!

Shuichi was pacing around the waiting room. He had checked in Kokichi and they had taken him away somewhere in the hospital. He pulled out his phone to look up his sweetheart’s symptoms so he could at least try and see what sickness he might have. 

Symptoms of fainting. The only ones he could associate with Kokichi were weakness, sweating, and headache. He could barely sit up, and his fever was making him weak and sweaty.

Shuichi sat down, trying to calm his breathing but with no success. Did Kokichi have low blood pressure? Arrhythmia? Cardiovascular disease? He pulled in short breaths, wringing his hands together and tapping his foot on the marble floor. What was wrong with his boyfriend? Why isn’t he okay?

“Mr. Saihara?” The nurse’s voice cut through his thoughts like a butcher knife to meat. “You can come back and see him now.”

Shuichi stood up straight from his chair, quickly walking over to the nurse. “Is he okay? What happened?” He asked fervently as she led him to Kokichi’s room. 

“We do not know what caused him to faint, but we’re sure he’s fine. It’s most likely that his fever got too high and caused this situation. He’ll be able to leave today after some tests.” 

They entered Kokichi’s room, and Shuichi finally let out the tears he was holding in. His chest heaved in a sob as he walked over to his boyfriend’s hospital bed, hugging him and burying his face in his neck. 

“Woah, Shubear . . . what happened? Did you finally get me pregnant?” He could hear the rasps and the teasing tone in his dear’s voice. Shuichi only heaved another sob.

“You . . . I . . . “ Shuichi backed away from his bed and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. “I came home and it . . . everything just.” 

Words were slipping away from Shuichi. Nothing made sense anymore. His breaths were quickening and he clasped his hands over his face.

“Hey, hey, hey, woah.” Kokichi sat up in his bed and motioned for Shuichi to come over. Shakily, like a toddler learning how to walk, Shuichi followed his commands. He sat on the edge of the hospital bed, wringing his hands together and sweating profusely. “You’re fine, okay? I’m fine. Everything’s good, I promise.” Kokichi said sincerely, genuinely concerned about his boyfriend. 

Any trace of his usual jokester self was gone, whisked away by the tense atmosphere of a hospital room. Shuichi tried to breathe, his hands moving to pull at his hair as he stared at Kokichi. “Stop.” Kokichi said sternly, moving his hands away and wrapping them in his own. 

“Ooh wait! Do you want to play a game?” Kokichi asked, his eyes brightening up as he looked across the room. Shuichi followed his eyes to see a painting hanging on the wall. “Do you think we can figure out how many colors are in that painting? C’mon, it’ll be really fun!” Kokichi grinned. 

Shuichi shook his head and let out a shaky breath, “No, I’m fine.”

 

“Awh. That’s no fun.” Kokichi smirked. Shuichi sighed with relief, his boyfriend seemed back to normal and happy. 

A sudden knock at the door made them both look up in surprise. The nurse had come back with a wheelchair and was staring at them curiously. “Mr. Saihara? Did something happen?” She asked with a nervous stare. 

“No. Everything is alright.” Kokichi interjected. The nurse continued to look suspicious of them. 

“Yeah.” Shuichi confirmed, avoiding her eye contact and grasping Kokichi’s hand. 

“Alright . . . “ the nurse seemed to shake the thought away from her as she wheeled the wheelchair over to the both of them. “Mr. Oma, the test results showed nothing abnormal, so you are free to go.” She explained before turning to Shuichi. “However, he should still rest for a few days just in case.” She smiled.

“Ah, yeah.” Shuichi murmured. Once the nurse had left the room, he helped Kokichi into the chair despite his protests that he could do it himself. Shuichi knew Kokichi had to be resenting the situation seeing as he was pretty much helpless at the moment. 

Shuichi hesitantly loaded Kokichi into the car and returned the wheel chair to the lobby of the hospital. As he fastened the purple-haired man’s seatbelt, he made worried eye contact with him. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay just one more day?” Shuichi asked.

“Nah. I was kind of getting sick of that place. Too sterile.” Kokichi laughed, waving off shuichi as if he had never fainted and had to be taken to the hospital in the first place. 

Shuichi started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. He was tense the whole way home, his shoulders up to his ears and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He almost looked on the verge of tears again. 

Shuichi helped Kokichi get out of the car and up the stairs to their apartment. He sat him down on the couch and heated up the grilled cheeses to eat. He took out the medicine he bought earlier and made him take a spoonful like Korekiyo said. 

“Shubear, you know I’m okay. It was just some incident that should be forgotten. Don’t overthink it or you’ll give yourself a panic attack.”

Shuichi nodded. “I-I know . . . I can't help but worry. I came home and . . . you were on the floor! I thought you were dead!” He wailed, scrubbing the palm of his hand over his cheeks until they burned. 

Kokichi had to act fast, and so he grabbed Shuichi’s wrists to stop him from hurting himself. “Hey, hey! Stop it. Shuichi,” he said harshly, “Stop. I’m okay now. I’m fine, you’re fine. Please try to calm down.” 

Tears began trailing down Shuichi’s still tear-stained cheeks. Kokichi looked around their living room desperately, his eyes landing on the stuffed bear he had won for Shuichi. 

“Look, Shubear! Here, hug him for a while and try to calm down,” Kokichi kissed the nose and handed it to him, “and squeeze him for love!” 

“W-What?” Shuichi sniveled, his hands clawing at the bear as he looked at Kokichi. 

“I gave him like . . . at least 90% of my love. Just for you!” Kokichi grinned. Shuichi sniffled and tried to wipe away the tears that never seemed to stop rolling down his cheeks. Kokichi lead Shuichi to the couch and sat him down gently. “Do you want something more comfortable to wear, Shubear?” Kokichi whispered, wrapping his lover in a blanket for added comfort. 

“N-No. Only you.” Shuichi buried his head in his arms and reached for Kokichi. Kokichi frowned and slipped beneath the blanket. His arm was still sore from where an IV had been inserted and he had to admit that his head was still throbbing. Kokichi shook away his thoughts and began to gently caress Shuichi’s shoulders and back. He needs me right now, Kokichi thought. 

After a while, Shuichi finally seemed to come down from his dangerous headspace. His hands were still raw and faintly bleeding but he was alright. “Good boy.” Kokichi hummed, kissing his temple and getting off of the sofa. “Now! How about we play some Minecraft! I just came up with the perfect prank to play on Gundham!” 

Shuichi only sniffled in response, “I don’t know . . . he got pretty mad last time.” 

“Well . . . you can play Animal Crossing or whatever while you watch me.” Kokichi shrugged. “Plus it wouldn’t be as fun with you being a worrywart the entire time.” He stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend and went to grab his laptop and Shuichi’s DS. 

Shuichi nodded and watched as Kokichi went and disappeared into the bedroom. The plum haired man returned a few seconds later with all the supplies plus a couple bundles of wadded up clothes in his arms. 

“Go change, Shubear! “ Kokichi threw one of the bundles at him and whisked him off to the bathroom. 

Shuichi blushed as he quickly noticed what Kokichi had picked for him to wear. It was simply a pair of his boxers and a t-shirt he didn’t remember buying. Exiting the bathroom, Shuichi tried to pull down his shirt so it at least went down to his mid-thighs. 

Kokichi, however, didn’t care for any bit of modesty. He was sitting on the couch with his legs spread as far as they could while still balancing the laptop. Shuichi noticed that he had already fetched himself a bottle of Panta and a few snacks for Shuichi. 

“Hey, sexy.” Kokichi teased, winking at Shuichi for extra measure. Shuichi mumbled something under his breath and settled down next to Kokichi. “Oh hey, it looks like Korekiyo’s online.” Kokichi hummed, moving his avatar around to spy on Korekiyo’s character.

“I invited him to join a while back. I never knew he actually did.” Shuichi hummed, leaning into Kokichi’s shoulder. 

“He made a sign,” Kokichi muttered, creeping up on it to read it, “ ‘get better soon, Kokichi?’ ” Kokichi read it aloud with a suspecting tone. 

Suddenly, Kokichi was being attacked causing him to start screaming and trying to escape it. It was fruitless in the end, as Kokichi was killed and had his inventory quickly stolen. 

“Kiyo! You’re such a meanie!” Kokichi screamed at the top of his lungs before beginning another fake crying charade. 

Shuichi smiled as he watched his boyfriend in his element. Everything seemed like it was back to normal. Even Korekiyo seemed to be in a good mood judging by the faint laughter that bled through the thin walls of the apartment. 

Shuichi pressed his face into Kokichi’s neck as he interacted with all their friends. He covered the microphone with his hand. “I’m sorry for overreacting. This is supposed to be about you. What happened was important.” He murmured, kissing his neck. 

Kokichi turned his head, moving the microphone out of the way and tilting his head. “You had a mini panic attack, I was more than happy to help you. We take care of each other.” He mumbled, pressing his lips to his. 

Shuichi allowed his boyfriend to kiss him for a while, his hand traveling down to his thigh and finally grasping his hand resting on the couch cushion. He pulled back and opened his eyes, his cheeks flushed red and hot to the touch. He smiled. 

Kokichi looked at him for a moment before smiling back, and pulled the headset back on. 

“Hey, guys.” Kokichi greeted, squeezing his beloved’s hand. Shuichi could practically hear the fake barfing noises and teases from the other side. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Kokichi was done playing Minecraft for the night, and Shuichi barely played Animal Crossing. They both got up and ready for bed in the bathroom. For a while there was only the sounds of brushing teeth and the rattling of various objects in the cabinet. There was no talking, just their arms wrapped around one another as they nestled into bed. 

Shuichi nestled his head in the crook of Kokichi’s shoulder, shivering when his sweetheart’s fingers danced over his back in a ticklish manner. He could feel Kokichi’s breath on his neck and smell the strawberry scent off his breath. Kokichi still used children’s toothpaste, something Shuichi always found odd but fitting for him and his personality. 

“You’re tickling me,” he whispered, dragging his arms up his sides, “don’t stop, though. I like it.” 

Kokichi snorted a quiet laugh. “Okay, Shubear.” He whispered. 

Shuichi sucked on his neck for a second, humming to himself. “Maybe you should get some sleep. You’re still sick.”

“I was going to but you decided to kiss my neck.” He teased, bringing a hand up to thread his fingers through his hair. 

Shuichi blushed and nuzzled closer to Kokichi. “So now you’ve gone all shy on me?” Kokichi cackled. 

“W-Whatever.” 

“You know . . . it doesn’t matter if I’m sick. I’m still up for some fun.” Kokichi tittered, ducking his head down into Shuichi’s neck and blowing a raspberry. 

Shuichi let out a loud scream before he began to laugh at the ticklish sensation. “Kokichi stop!” He giggled and began to thrash around. 

Kokichi continued his pursuit until Shuichi was panting and his stomach hurt from laughing. Shuichi covered his face with his hands, embarrassed of everything from his laugh to his bright red face. “Awh! You’re so cute when you’re flustered, Shubear!” Kokichi pulled away his hands and smirked at him. 

Kokichi leaned down and placed a tender kiss on Shuichi’s lips and nose. “Goodnight, baby boy.” Kokichi cooed in a low and hushed voice. 

Shuichi felt his face heat up even more. “Goodnight, Kokichi.” 

He closed his eyes and the world around him went black.


	5. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating yesterday! we’re trying to slow down so we don’t finish this fic so quickly.

Shuichi woke up early the next morning. He snuggled closer to Kokichi, nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck. Kokichi was still sleeping. Shuichi knew this because if he were awake, he’d be giggling and teasing Shuichi. 

Shuichi tightened his grip around his waist and pulled back a little to observe his boyfriend. His plum-colored hair was ruffled and a few strands were sticking to his forehead. It was hot and stuffy last night, but both of the men refused to let go of one another. 

Shuichi sighed, letting go and rolling on his back. Thoughts were dipping through his mind like lightning, and they were all concerns about Kokichi. It was a relaxing night after coming back from the hospital, and Kokichi seemed to be a little better. But now he looked sickly pale, hair stuck to his sweaty forehead and his cheeks and nose rosy red. 

“Please get better soon.” Shuichi prayed, rubbing his tear glazed eyes before sitting up and leaving for the kitchen. He put his hat on and ruffled through the cabinets to search for breakfast ingredients. He decided on cooking some simple scrambled eggs for his and Kokichi’s breakfast in case Kokichi had a sensitive stomach. 

Shuichi suppressed a yawn as he slowly cooked the eggs in a pan over the stove. He felt a pair of two sleepy arms nestle around his waist causing him to jump in surprise. “Calm down, it's just me.” Kokichi mumbled, rubbing his face into Shuichi’s back. 

Shuichi turned the heat down on the eggs to turn around to greet his boyfriend. Kokichi was practically naked, save for the multicolored boxers he wore loosely around his waist. Kokichi seemed to notice that Shuichi was nervous about his sickly appearance and brightened his personality to make up for it. 

“Whatcha cooking there, emo hat?” Kokichi snuck past Shuichi to stare at the eggs. “Really? Scrambled eggs? That’s it?” Kokichi scoffed, rolling his eyes and pouting. 

“I thought your stomach might be a bit sensitive from . . . yesterday. I can make some toast with jelly too though if you’d like.” Shuichi explained, wringing his hands together and avoiding Kokichi’s stare. Kokichi’s face softened and he pat Shuichi’s shoulder comfortingly. 

“Don’t get all worked up, Shubear. I’ll get it myself. You want coffee?” Kokichi asked as he began to ruffle through the cabinets. 

“Y-Yes, please.” Shuichi whispered, turning back to his eggs. Kokichi only nodded in response and began to prepare the extra aspects to the meal. 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Shuichi watched suspiciously as Kokichi ate his breakfast uncharacteristically slow. Usually, Kokichi would devour anything placed within a few feet of him without any mercy. Instead, his fork wielded only a sliver of egg every time he raised it to his lips, and his chewing went on for quite a while before he swallowed.

Shuichi sighed and tried to clear the thoughts from his mind and enjoy his meal. “So, Kokichi. What do you want to do today?” Shuichi asked. 

Kokichi shrugged and took a sip of his overly sweet coffee to avoid the conversation. Shuichi frowned but didn’t say a word when Kokichi left the table to go clean his dishes and rinse out the coffee cup. 

Shuichi lingered at the table, tapping his fingers on the material and worrying. Finally, he did the same as Kokichi had done with his dishes and went to find his boyfriend within the apartment. 

He found Kokichi on the couch sleeping with his limbs strewn all over the place and his face flushed. “Kokichi, sweetie, you need to get up really quick.” Shuichi frowned. Kokichi simply groaned and nuzzled deeper into the couch cushions. “You need to take your medicine. Also, I wouldn’t complain if you put on some pants or at least a shirt.” 

Kokichi snorted, “I thought you liked me half-naked, Shubear.”

Shuichi blushed with the fierceness of a thousand suns. “I-I do, but if surprise company comes over I don’t want them to see you like that.” He stammered.

“Someone’s jealous!” Kokichi sung teasingly, rolling off of the couch and swaying a bit before shakily walking off to the bedroom. Shuichi bit his lip in nervousness, this wasn’t his Kokichi. 

Shuichi watched as his boyfriend walked out with a pair of sweatpants and a bright purple shirt with a picture of a rat on it. “Where’d you get that shirt from?” Shuichi asked curiously.

“Korekiyo got it for me!”

Shuichi chuckled and watched as Kokichi laid back down on the couch and closed his eyes. “So . . . when are you going back to work?” Kokichi hummed, placing his hands behind his head. “I hate to break it to you, Shubear, but my supreme leader of evil job doesn’t really pay the bills that well.”

Shuichi thought for a moment. He had totally forgotten about his job at the detective agency. He wasn’t even sure if he had called to tell his boss that he wouldn’t be in. “I don’t know.” Shuichi shrugged. He was far too nervous to leave Kokichi home alone while he worked. 

“Hey,” Kokichi’s voice broke Shuichi from his thoughts, “I’m okay. Didn’t I tell you that already?” Kokichi smiled, taking Shuichi’s hand and squeezing it gently. Shuichi didn’t say anything. He only stared at his lover. 

“You still need to take your medicine.” Shuichi changed the conversation and pulled his hand away. He needed to distract himself or he was going to start crying again. He slowly padded off to the kitchen leaving Kokichi alone and confused on the couch. 

Shuichi could feel his hands shaking as he poured the concoction onto the spoon. He could feel his breaths becoming irregular. He felt a whimper build in the back of his throat. He went to twist the cap back on the bottle, but he accidentally hit his hand on the bottle and caused it to spill. His breathing became more irregular as he stared at the spill, and he scratched at his wrist until it felt raw. He stopped to grab and tug at his hair, releasing a whine.

He grabbed the spoon of medicine he poured for Kokichi and raised it to his lips. He felt as though he was no longer in control of himself. He stuck the spoon into his mouth and swallowed bitterly. His throat was raw and swollen from his crying causing him to choke on the substance and spiral into a coughing fit.

Shuichi’s eyes were foggy with tears and his chest was uncomfortably tight. He felt Kokichi’s arms wrap around him, but he didn’t bother to struggle or question their movements. His hearing felt as though he was underwater, as if he was outside of his body.

“Hey, baby. Look at me.” He heard Kokichi’s voice call to him. Shuichi was shaking, but looked to Kokichi through the slits between his fingers like a child. Kokichi took his hands and slowly led him to be sitting on the floor. Shuichi continued to hyperventilate and reached his hands out for Kokichi with a loud sob. 

“Shuichi, sweetie, I know you’re really scared right now, but you need to listen to me.” Kokichi said sternly, cupping his boyfriend’s face in his hands. “I need to know how much of this you just took.” He demanded, taking the bottle off the counter and reading over the labels. 

“O-Only one.” Shuichi whimpered, curling into himself out of embarrassment. Kokichi was the one who needed to be taken care of, not him. 

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Shuichi. You’re just not in a good headspace right now.” Kokichi soothed, snaking his hand around Shuichi to massage the back of his head. “What can I do for you right now?” 

Shuichi just shook his head and nestled closer to Kokichi, listening to his heartbeat and trying to match his breathing to his. Neither of the men knew how long they sat there, wrapped in each other’s arms in near silence. Finally, it seemed Shuichi’s panic attack was over and all was right with the world again. 

Kokichi sighed, and held Shuichi close to him. “I’m sorry I can’t carry you, but do you think you can walk to the couch?” Kokichi asked softly, not wishing to startle his sweetheart any more. 

Shuichi only nodded between his hiccuping sniffles, grabbing Kokichi’s hand and shuffling behind him to the couch. Kokichi laid him down, and covered him with a nearby blanket. Shuichi felt his eyes closing on him before he could say anything. Kokichi shushed him, petting his hair and tucking the blanket around him tighter. “It’s okay, baby. Just go to sleep. Nothing will happen to me.” Kokichi soothed, handing him the pink stuffed bear from the arcade. Shuichi accepted it as if it were a lifeline and instantly seemed to calm down. 

______________________________________________________________

Kokichi waited a few minutes before he dared leave Shuichi’s side. Once he was sure that his boyfriend had fallen asleep, he made his way to the kitchen to go and take the medicine for himself. He watched the clock tick by into the pitch-black night when a sudden knock roused him from a trance. 

Kokichi stepped outside to see Korekiyo standing by the door. His hair was tied into a loose bun, and dark circles littered his eyes. His mask was still on per usual, but his usual exotic uniform was replaced with sweatpants and a baggy sweater. He was carrying a backpack on his shoulders that seemed filled to the brim with books and other oddities. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Kokichi whispered, stepping outside as to not disturb Shuichi.

“I was just about to leave for my night classes, but I couldn’t help but worry about all the racket in there.” Korekiyo perched an eyebrow and sighed. 

“Huh, I never would have guessed you were actually compassionate, masky-mask. I thought you were some big scary monster. “ Kokichi smirked. Korekiyo only rolled his eyes and looked at Kokichi demandingly for a different answer. 

“Shuichi was just having a breakdown, nothin’ to worry about.” Kokichi shrugged. Korekiyo paused for a moment, before he began to dig in his backpack. After a while he pulled out a vat of some oil and handed it to Kokichi. Kokichi turned the bottle around in his palm with suspicion, looking over to Korekiyo with a questioning glare. 

“You truly do not trust me do you?” Korekiyo scoffed. “It’s lavender. I find it quite soothing and I’m sure Shuichi would as well.” Korekiyo hummed, slinging the backpack around his shoulders again. 

“Oh. Hmm, well thanks, Mama Kork. Enjoy your stupid nerd classes or whatever.” Kokichi smirked, stepping back inside and closing the door behind him.

He chuckled faintly as he headed to Shuichi as a faint yelp came from Korekiyo outside the door. 

“I do believe I asked you to refer to me as ‘Kiyo’, Kokichi!” 

Kokichi rolled his eyes, walking into the kitchen to set the bottle of lavender on the counter. His face contorted as he caught sight of the now sticky medicine by the sink. 

He sighed, grabbing a washcloth and getting it wet under the sink water. He slowly washed up the stickiness and threw the washcloth in the laundry. 

As far as he knew, the medicine would not harm Shuichi even though he wasn’t sick. He only had a spoonful. Rubbing his temples with his index fingers he crossed the kitchen to enter their living room and sat on the reclining chair. He grabbed the TV remote and flipped through the channels on low volume.

He was awake until midnight. He knew his beloved would scold him and tell him he should rest because he’s still sick, but he couldn’t sleep. Not while he ended terms with Shuichi so weirdly. 

Kokichi was so deep in thought that he didn’t even realize Shuichi was awake and standing in front of him. He jolted with a yelp when Shuichi collapsed on top of him, burying his face in his neck and wrapping his arms around his stomach. 

“Why are you awake?” Shuichi’s question was heard muffled through his shirt. Kokichi tried to tug his boyfriend up by his armpits, but he could not succeed. 

“Get up here first, Shuichi.” He murmured, resisting a yawn. 

His boyfriend sat up a little, sitting up straighter and sliding into Kokichi’s lap. “Don’t get too comfortable, though. We need to brush our teeth and take medicine.”

“Let’s just go now.” Shuichi sighed, standing up and heading towards the bathroom with Kokichi. 

They brushed their teeth and took the needed medication, sliding into bed together. Kokichi took everything but his boxers off and slid behind Shuichi to spoon him. “Everything’s going to be okay.” Kokichi whispered in the dark, trying his best to make the cliche words sound as if they had a more profound meaning. He felt Shuichi nod and snuggle closer to him. “You’re so cute.” Kokichi smiled, pecking the top of his boyfriend’s head before closing his eyes as well.


	6. Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi goes back to work.

“Get up, gorgeous! It’s a big day!” Kokichi sing-songed into Shuichi’s ear. Shuichi groaned and sat up on his elbows to look at Kokichi. Kokichi ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead in attempts to wake Shuichi further from his sleep. 

“What?” Shuichi murmured as Kokichi dragged him out of bed and began to dress him.

“You go back to work today, silly!” Kokichi hummed, throwing a tie at Shuichi along with his jacket. 

Shuichi was instantly awake, a nervous look washing over his face as he watched Kokichi busy himself around the room. “I don’t know, Kokichi . . . ” Shuichi mumbled, messily tying his tie and pulling his hat over his hair. “Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Shuichi sighed, biting his nails and reaching to begin scratching at his arms. 

“Don’t get all weird on me. It was just a little hiccup, Shubear. Stop worrying.” Kokichi sighed exasperatedly on his path to the kitchen.

Shuichi followed him tentatively, watching him pour coffee and drop two sugar cubes into it. Shuichi smiled softly, Kokichi always knew how to make the perfect coffee for him. 

“I . . . I just have a bad feeling.” Shuichi mumbled, blowing on his coffee for a second before sipping it. Kokichi waved his hand with an incredulous look. 

“Nothing is going to happen. You’re being paranoid.” Kokichi affirmed before a mischievous look crossed over his face. The purple-haired man placed a firm smack on Shuichi’s backside causing him to yelp and place his hands over his buttocks. “Now get going, otherwise you’re going to be dealing with one huge traffic headache.”

“Right . . . “ Shuichi sighed. He grabbed his keys and headed towards the door before turning back to Kokichi. “Maybe I should just stay home.”

“Shuichi Saihara, you better be out of that door before I count to three or else I’m going to expose all of your secrets over Twitter.” Kokichi threatened, sipping his coffee with an expression that could be read as ‘do you really want to mess with me?’. 

Shuichi nodded begrudgingly and walked out of the apartment. He waved at Korekiyo who was petting some stray cat outside of his home; however, Korekiyo only blinked at him and scooped the cat into his arms and disappeared into his apartment once more. He passed by Souda and Gundham’s apartment only to hear intense bickering along with various animal sounds and the unmistakable shatter of something glass being thrown against a wall. The birds were singing their early morning songs and Shuichi could feel the peace in the air. Everyone was happy, Kokichi was better again, and everything was just as it had been. From the way the wind tickled his skin to the waft of cinnamon he caught from the open window to Taka and Mondo’s apartment Shuichi found comfort. 

With a positive outlook and a new found inspiration, Shuichi drove to the detective agency with a larger than life smile, his hands tapping against the steering wheel to whatever tune was playing. He felt whole. He was away from crisp, sterile hospital rooms and nights filled with sobbing and a long, anxiety-induced nap afterwards. 

Shuichi pulled into the parking lot of his work and took a final breath to gather himself. “I’m going to rock this!” He yelled to himself, clenching his hands into fists and opening his car door. He put his best foot forward and headed towards the doors of the detective agency. 

____________________________________________________________________________

The work day was easy enough. Shuichi breezed through his case reports and even got to looking over and connecting a few clues from a recent murder case. He was praised by his boss despite the fact he had missed days where he could have been working. He even was able to snatch a croissant from the breakroom for lunch before everyone stole them. 

He was even able to finish all of his objectives for the day before his shift ended, allowing him a few minutes to log into the Minecraft server. Oddly enough, Kokichi, who was arguably online the most, was nowhere to be seen in the world. Only Mondo was logged in, busy building some sort of garden for Taka as a present. 

He must be tired of sitting around all day, Shuichi decided, closing his laptop and stuffing it into its case. He waved goodbye to his coworkers and ran out to his car eager to return home to Kokichi and tell him about his day. 

Shuich was all smiles as he opened the door to the apartment, a bright glow to his face as he kicked off his shoes and ran into the living room. “Kokichi!” He called. The plum-haired man wasn’t on the couch however, nor did any response resonate from any other room in the house. Shuichi ran to the kitchen, but the only evidence of Kokichi’s existence was the empty coffee cup on the counter and a half eaten bagel still laying on the table. “Kokichi?” Shuichi whimpered, his mind already becoming swallowed in negativity as he ran to the last place he would think for his lover to be.

Bursting through the bedroom door, Shuichi began to wail hysterically. Kokichi was on the bedroom floor, his body limp again as he lay unconscious. “Kokichi!” He sobbed, his arms wrapping around him and finding only his chilled skin and faint pulse. 

Shuichi didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t in any state to phone an ambulance let alone drive to a hospital again. Maybe he could get Korekiyo, but then again the masked man often ignored him or wasn’t home. Shuichi felt around the floor in desperation, his lungs feeling like they were being crushed and his stomach churning in fright. Finally, his hands brushed over the soft fur of the bear. He pulled the stuffed animal close to him and began to rock back and forth on the floor, his free hand feeling for Kokichi’s pulse constantly. 

Shuichi continued to whimper and sob alone in the bedroom room afraid of everything around him. What would he do if Kokichi’s pulse went flat? What rhythm were you supposed to do CPR to again?

He squeezed his unconscious lover’s wrist in desperation, their bedroom swaying before him. He heaved a few more sobs, looking over at Kokichi and daringly letting go of his wrist to pet his hair and lean over him, his tears falling and trailing down Kokichi’s face. 

At least an hour had passed before Kokichi woke up again. Shuichi never left his side for a moment, even when his emotions became too much for him and he bit his arm to calm down. Kokichi blinked a few times, and sat up to a dark room.

He got tackled by his boyfriend in a hug, and he groaned. “Shubear, what’s wrong?”

“I knew I should have stayed home!” Shuichi wailed, looking into his eyes as fresh tears poured freely from his own. 

“Shubear, sweetie. I just got up too fast. You know I’m still sick, so it affected me badly. I’m okay now.” He soothed, rubbing his back. 

“I was so worried!” Shuichi whimpered, scrubbing his face clean of tears. 

“Did you hurt yourself, Shuichi?” Kokichi asked gently, his purple eyes searching for any marks.

Shuichi stood to turn on the light in the bedroom, and showed him his arm. “I didn’t mean to. Everything just became too much. You weren’t waking up and I kept thinking bad thoughts.” 

Kokichi sighed, standing up shakily and pulling back the covers of their shared bed. “Let me order some takeout while you rest. It’s been a stressful couple of days for the both of us.”

Shuichi nodded begrudgingly and laid down, taking off his hat and tie. 

Kokichi ordered their food and they ate in a comfortable silence. The rest of the night went by smoothly. Before bed, Kokichi stood an motioned for Shuichi to follow him. “Come to the bathroom with me, I need to clean your bite,” he murmured, grabbing the disinfectant material and dunking a cotton ball in it, “this might burn a little, so be warned.” He dabbed at the mark and cleaned the dried blood, grabbing a bandaid when he was all finished.

He led them to bed for the third night in a row, and settled down with his boyfriend. 

Shuichi broke the silence. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked with a tremor in his voice, his hand wringing together. 

“I’m fine, Shubear. I told you what happened. You need to rest after all that crying and stress.” He insisted, reaching for his lover’s face and tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. 

“You’re the sick one,” Shuichi pouted, tugging Kokichi by the neck on top of him, “I don’t need any rest.”

This time Kokichi was the one to blush. “Shubear, you do need rest. Me being on top of you does not help your rest.” 

“Just sleep on me, Kokichi.” Shuichi pleaded, pressing his face into the crook of Kokichi’s neck and letting his muscles relax. 

Kokichi sighed, wrapping his arms around his lover and littering little kisses over his skin. “You know I love you, right? I don’t want to see you hurting, whether that be physically or emotionally.” He whispered, his voice cracking and his throat raw with emotion. 

Shuichi nuzzled closer to him, clawing at his back and whimpering like an injured animal.

Kokichi murmured sweet nothings into Shuichi’s ears, desperate to make sure his sweetheart was comfortable and not in any distress. 

“I think Souda and Gundham are throwing a party tomorrow. I bet it’d be fun if we went.” Kokichi hummed, petting Shuichi’s hair and making sure he knew it was an open discussion. 

Shuichi froze but Kokichi remained stagnant, his hands still running through Shuichi’s hair soothingly. “I don’t know . . . ”

“Hey. I think we both need a break from everything, Shubear. It’d be a nice distraction from everything going on at the moment. Pretty please? Just for me?”

“Well . . . you’re probably going to go even if I say no. I have to go if you’re going, so . . . yeah. We can go.” Shuichi sighed, returning the gesture and bringing both of his hands up to thread them through Kokichi’s hair. 

“Yay! It’ll be fun, I promise.” Kokichi grinned.


	7. Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi and Shuichi go to Souda and Gundham’s party.

Shuichi sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror for what must have been the twentieth time. His outfit was simple, a button up shirt of his and a pair of sleek dress pants he had recovered from the depths of his shared closet with Kokichi. 

Kokichi however had gone to great lengths to present himself as gaudy as possible. He was wearing a checkered shirt and bright purple pants that made the outfit rather eye-catching. 

“Don’t be nervous now, Shubear! I think you look pretty hot.” Kokichi winked, fixing his hair and spraying a few spritzes of some fruity fragrance on himself. 

Shuichi hummed, his face breaking out in a blush. He watched as Kokichi strode over to him and took his hand in his. “Let’s go, sweet cheeks! It’s time to paaar-tay!” Kokichi cackled, whisking him out the door and into the chilly night air. A whole day had passed since Shuichi had another breakdown, but he felt as though he recovered at least slightly from the incident. 

It wasn’t hard to find Souda and Gundham’s apartment. There was already loud, obnoxious music bleeding out from inside the door, and the flashing lights were visible from the cracks between the room inside and the crisp outdoors.

They made their way indoors quietly, hardly being recognized by the other partygoers. Shuichi could already feel his head begin to throb and his mind grow weary of the party atmosphere. “Hey. It’s all good, Shubear! I’ll go get us something to drink.” Kokichi yelled over the music, gesturing to the table set up nearby with plenty of confectionaries and goodies. Shuichi only nodded and turned to look at all the events happening. 

There were couples performing risqué dancing or kissing in the sweaty, hot air of the party. Shuichi could tell some people were already drunk out of their minds. A specific example was Kaito who was groaning and wiping vomit from his mouth as Maki tried to take care of him. Shuichi grimaced, this whole place reminded him of some sort of example teachers would show students of how not to behave. 

Where is Souda and Gundham? Shuichi thought. He looked over the crowd and even went as far as to search in the kitchen, but he couldn’t find any sign of the couple anywhere. He noticed Kokichi had struck up a conversation with someone Shuichi faintly recognized. Shuichi knew his conversations often lasted a decent amount of time, so he decided to continue his search. 

He spoke to everyone he could find who he recognized, but none of them had reliable information. Korekiyo simply shrugged while sipping on some odd combination of alcohol and other liquids before announcing rather loudly that he had only come to experience the beauty of humanity. 

Mondo was not sober and had rather vulgarly told him to leave him alone. Taka had apologized for his boyfriend’s behavior and offered to aid Shuichi in his search which he declined politely. 

It seemed as if there was no hope left as Shuichi wandered back to where Kokichi was and began to sip on whatever drink his boyfriend had fetched for him. However, the calm was soon broken as a voice took control of the crowd. 

It was Souda, his jumpsuit no longer zipped at the top and hanging loosely around his shoulders to reveal a white t-shirt underneath. He was standing atop his kitchen counter and swinging his arms around crazily “Hey everyone!” He yelled, his hands cupping around his mouth. “If any of you are up for it. We’re playing spin the bottle in our room!” Souda announces, suddenly being dragged down by Gundham. 

“Come on, Shubear! It’ll be fun!” Kokichi grinned. Shuichi grimaced. He could not help but imagine the awkwardness of the situation if he had to kiss someone other than Kokichi. 

Alas, he followed his boyfriend anyways to Souda and Gundham’s room which was stuffy and smelled of cigarette smoke and hard liquor. 

Souda was bickering with Gundham when they walked in, but quickly stopped when he noticed the guests. There were eight of them in total about to play the game when everyone had filed in. 

Hajime was standing awkwardly in the corner, fidgeting. “Just for the record, Nagito is making me do this.” He stammered defensively. 

“Yeah, yeah, sure, Hajime. We all know what you want.” Teruteru winked, his face already washing over with perverted intentions. 

Sonia was clapping her hands together and excitedly twirling around. “I have never played this game before, but I heard it is quite fun!”

Even Korekiyo had tagged along, his eyes glazed over with something Shuichi could not quite put his finger on. They all settled down on the floor in a circle with a bottle of wine sitting in the middle. 

“I hope I get Shuichi.” Kokichi flirted, intertwining his fingers with his boyfriend. 

Souda chuckled before he spun the bottle around in a swift motion. It teetered for a bit before it landed on its two contestants, Teruteru and Shuichi. Shuichi grimaced as he saw Teruteru eagerly lean in with his greasy hands. He accepted his grizzly kiss and awkwardly watched as he pulled away after slightly too much time. 

“I can’t believe I was first.” He whispered to Kokichi while dabbing away at his mouth with his shirt. 

“Me neither.” Kokichi smirked causing Shuichi to playfully slap at his arms. 

The bottle spun again and landed on Korekiyo and Hajime. Hajime looked flustered while Korekiyo’s expression quickly became amused. His golden orbs glazed over with what could be assumed to be lust. Korekiyo pulled down his mask revealing his lips that were painted a delicate, feminine red shade. He cupped Hajime’s face in his hands and leaned in for an intense kiss which Hajime slowly relaxed into after the mere four seconds they continued to embrace. Then Korekiyo pulled away with a smirk before quickly covering his face with the mask once more. 

Shuichi felt himself blush at the tense, flirtatious feeling flowing through the air. Hajime looked mildly ashamed and looked away from the game, dabbing away at a lipstick stain on his face while murmuring something Shuichi thought to be “Sorry, Chiaki.” 

Souda spun the bottle once more and his eyes brightened up as he saw that one ended on himself. However, the nose of the bottle landed on Kokichi causing him to scarf. “Get it over with, you germsack.” He huffed. 

Kokichi grinned and landed a dramatic kiss on Souda’s lips letting out a dramatic “mwah” afterwards. 

Souda appeared agitated and as though he wished to forget the incident entirely. 

So the bottle was spun again and landed fatefully on Shuichi and Korekiyo. Shuichi gaped. He had seen how Korekiyo was at kissing just minutes ago, and he wasn’t sure if his heart could handle such an intense experience. 

“Do not worry, Shuichi.” Korekiyo hummed with a humoured expression. He crawled over the space in the circle to lean very close to Shuichi’s face. He could feel his neighbor’s hot breath against his face. His mask was quickly removed from his face and he began to ravage Shuichi’s lips. Shuichi sat rather stiff, fazed by everything going on around him and speechless. Korekiyo pulled away with a frown as he noticed how Shuichi did not fall into the kiss as Hajime did. 

“How sad.” Korekiyo hummed. “I thought I had found another dear friend for my sister and I.” He nestled back down onto the floor. “Oh well,” He turned and began to caress Hajime’s jaw, “I think this little treat will be sufficient enough, indeed.” 

Hajime only blushed and the air became tense before Kokichi broke the silence. “No fair! Shubear and Kiyo both got kissed twice!” He whined, crossing his arms. Shuichi smiled and bent down to deliver a soft kiss onto Kokichi’s lips. Kokichi smiled against the kiss and the two continued to mesh their bodies together before Souda broke the silence. 

“Okay, okay, we get it. You’re in love.” He scoffed, twirling the bottle around for the fifth time. 

The bottle landed on Gundham and Sonia. Sonia covered her face with her hand, the free one going down to mess with the hem of her skirt. It soon became obvious that her intent was to appear as vixen-like and sultry as she could. Shuichi watched as Souda nervously balled his hands into fists as Gundham continued to stare at Sonia. Suddenly, the breeder lunged forward and encaptured the only girl of the group into his arms. 

They kissed with more fierceness than Korekiyo had, with an animalistic aspect of it visible to everyone. Souda’s face went pale and he began to tremor as Gundham furthered the kiss, his hands going down to the small of Sonia’s back. 

Shuichi grit his teeth. This kiss was no longer just another part of some childish game. It was betrayal. 

Korekiyo was watching the scenario play out, his hand brushing over Hajime’s. “Humans are so interesting.” He purred. 

“Why, I didn’t know you were into this, Kiyo.” Teruteru winked.

“Now’s not the time, weirdo!” Kokichi yelled at the chef. 

Souda was closing his eyes and breathing with intense anger. Gundham was practically ravaging Sonia, his hands trailing down every nook and cranny of her body. Shuichi blinked uncomfortably and turned to Kokichi. “Hey, I think we should get going-”

Souda suddenly stood up and delivered a firm slap to the back of Gundham’s head before he ran out of the room with a final yell of frustration. Gundham had stopped kissing Sonia, his face washing over with realization. “Kazuichi! Wait!” He called after his lover, abandoning Sonia on the floor. She huffed and stood up with her hands clenched at her sides. She fixed her clothes and set after the couple. 

“Ooh! A lover’s quarrel! I’ve got to see this!” Teruteru snorted, toddling after them. 

Now only Korekiyo, Hajime, Shuichi, and Kokichi remained in the room. Korekiyo only chuckled and pulled Hajime up to stand with him. He wrapped his lengthy arms around his waist and chuckled. “Follow me, darling. I have pressing matters to discuss with you.” 

Hajime blushed, but followed Korekiyo willingly down the hall into an unoccupied room.

“I want to go home.” Shuichi looked down at his hands. 

Kokichi sighed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Yeah, that’d probably be best.”


	8. Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Kokichi go to the museum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late chapter. i know it looks half-assed and rushed. not particularly happy with this one.

Shuichi untangled himself from Kokichi’s arms and padded into the living room. He decided breakfast would be dependant on leftovers, so he would have no need to worry about cooking. He pulled a nearby shirt over his body and walked outside to collect the mail. He collected the envelopes from the mailbox to the right of their door, looking out of the corner of his eye at Korekiyo’s apartment. Korekiyo’s door peeled open, and the odd neighbor stepped out. 

Korekiyo was dressed in his uniform already, but multiple hickeys were littering his neck and jawline. A moment later another figure emerged out with him. It was Hajime, clinging onto his arm and hiding behind him. He was dressed only in a loose shawl that did little to conceal him. His body had suspicious rope burn marks all over it along with a fair share of hickeys himself. 

Shuichi blushed as he tried to ignore the obvious truth that was practically written across their foreheads. Shuichi couldn’t help but eavesdropping on their conversation as they went to enter Korekiyo’s apartment once more. 

“Hajime, my sweet, go ahead and prepare yourself for the day ahead. We are to meet up with Chiaki today and tell her of our arrangement.”

Shuichi whipped his head around to look at Korekiyo and Hajime fully, clutching his and Kokichi’s mail. Korekiyo caught his gaze and the corner of his eyes crinkled up to signal that he was grinning. Shuichi made a run for his apartment room. 

Opening the door and walking in, Shuichi set the mail on the countertop of their kitchen. He saw Kokichi in the living room in just loose boxers. He felt a blush crawl up his cheeks when he saw the various amount of lovebites on his boyfriend’s stomach and thighs. He knew that he wasn’t one to judge Korekiyo.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Shuichi smiled, sliding on to the couch with him and giving him a lingering kiss. “When did you wake up?”

Kokichi ran his hands down to rest on Shuichi’s love handles. “When I heard you leave to go get the mail, apparently.” Kokichi stated, peppering his beloved’s face with kisses. 

Shuichi hummed contently and rested his head in the crook of Kokichi’s neck despite the height difference. 

“Kiyo texted me.” Kokichi announced, and his hands danced over Shuichi’s hips. Shuichi shivered. 

“Yeah?” 

“He wants us to come to his need lecture or something.” Kokichi shrugged. “I thought it might be good to invite Souda along too. I bet he’s not doing too well.” 

Shuichi nodded. “I can’t imagine. He isn’t even my boyfriend and I felt weird about it.” 

“I still need to get ready. Go and see if he’s up for it.” Kokichi told him, pulling away and placing one last kiss on his nose. 

So, once Kokichi had barricaded himself in the bathroom, Shuichi was off to find Kazuichi and invite him to come with them to the museum. 

No noise was coming from Kazuichi’s apartment. There wasn’t the smell of coffee brewing. No animal sounds could be heard. There was only silence and emptiness. As if no one had ever lived there in the first place.

Shuichi raised his fist and knocked on the wooden door a few times. Nothing happened. He waited a few seconds before knocking again. Nothing. 

“Souda? It’s Shuichi. I was gonna invite you to go to the museum with Kokichi and I.” 

No answer. 

Shuichi sighed, saying farewell and heading back to his and Kokichi’s apartment. He opened the door to find his boyfriend dancing to whatever tune was on the radio as he quickly scarfed down his breakfast. “Shubear!” He shouted, food falling out of his mouth. 

“Kokichi, please swallow before saying anything else. Before you ask, Kazuichi didn’t even answer his door.”

Kokichi shrugged, putting his dishes in the sink and walking over to plant a kiss on Shuichi’s lips. “Go get proper clothes on, then, so we can go.” He said, giving his backside a smack. 

Shuichi yelped, rushing into their room and changing into some sweatpants and a t-shirt that had a magnifying glass on the front. 

“I’m ready! Let’s go.” Kokichi grinned, grabbing the keys and his and Shuichi’s wallet.

—————————————————————

The doors to the museum were large and looming. Shuichi had to open the door for Kokichi, and they walked in.

Neither of them could find the exact spot where Korekiyo’s lecture was, so they stood by and read the information of some displays. 

“Shubear, let’s go to the bathroom.” Kokichi tugged on the hem of Shuichi’s shirt.

“You can go by yourself, Kokichi.” He insisted.

“But I want you to go with me!” Kokichi whined.

Shuichi rolled his eyes and followed his boyfriend to the public bathrooms. He could almost smell the stench wafting from inside. 

He already felt uncomfortable as he leaned against the wall of the bathroom, letting Kokichi wander into the stall to do his business. 

He shuddered at the mere thought of how many germs infested the bathroom. Shuichi walked over to the sinks and bathroom mirror. He turned on the tap, and rinsed his face with the cool water. He heard a stall door swing open and stood up to turn and meet Kokichi again. However, when his eyes made contact with the figure in the mirror behind him, he was shocked to find Gundham as the culprit. 

Gundham looked like an utter mess. His hair was greasy and messy. His eyes were red and his skin was discolored. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. 

“Gundham.” Shuichi whispered. 

“What are you doing here, fiend?” Gundham spat, obviously trying to pull off his villainous act. 

“It’s a public museum. I have the right to be here.” Shuichi shrugged, glaring at Gundham with as angry of an expression as he could muster. “How could you do that?” 

“Do not act as though you are completely innocent in this event! You are courting Kokichi, yet you did lay your lips upon Korekiyo, did you not?” Gundham roared, lunging towards Shuichi. 

“Yes I did, but I didn’t start trying to do anything more! You heard Korekiyo sound disappointed. I didn’t kiss back let alone start trying to undress him!” Shuichi defended himself, trying to seem tall and threatening. 

Kokichi walked out of the stall, hastily trying to fix his belt. “Woah . . . what’s going on here?” 

“Souda’s probably losing sleep over what you did.” Shuichi sighed. “Listen, I know not all of us are in the clear here. Kokichi and I both kissed someone, Hajime and Chiaki’s relationship is . . . odd now, but you took it way too far, Gundham.” Shuichi shook his head and turned towards Kokichi. “Let’s go.” 

Kokichi rushed over and escorted Shuichi out of the bathroom. “Things got pretty rough back there, huh?” Kokichi hummed.

“Yeah.” Shuichi mumbled. “Let’s just go find Kiyo. I’m sure he’s really mad that we haven’t showed up yet.”

Soon enough they found him in some remote wing of the museum. He was dressed in some ancient costume, showing some artifacts to the crowd which appeared to be from the same region and time period. The lecture only lasted five more minutes though, as they had missed the other 40 minutes that the lecture entailed. 

Shuichi saw Korekiyo toss him a glare, but he didn’t approach him or Kokichi. He simply walked over to Hajime and Chiaki who were standing a few feet away and encompassed them in his lengthy arms. He kissed them both on the forehead before the three of them set out to some undisclosed location.

“He’s poly now?” Kokichi inquired, his head tilted with curiosity.

“I have no idea.” Shuichi sighed, interlacing his and Kokichi’s hands and exiting the museum. 

Shuichi drove them back to their apartment where they watched TV, had lunch, and relaxed on the couch, cuddling next to each other with Shuichi spooning Kokichi, his arm around his waist and face pressed into his boyfriend’s neck. 

“Shubear, look. We should go see that movie next weekend.” Kokichi murmured, intertwining his fingers into Shuichi’s. 

Shuichi just whispered an affirmative, not sure what he was even agreeing to and softly kissing the back of Kokichi’s neck. 

Kokichi squirmed away from Shuichi’s kiss with a whine. “Stop getting your detective germs on me.” He shoved his face away playfully, provoking a full on war of harmless wrestling. 

Shuichi pouted, his arms going up his lover’s sides to tickle him. “You stop! You’re being mean.” He lifted the hem of shirt up to blow a raspberry on Kokichi’s stomach. 

Kokichi squealed, grabbing Shuichi’s wrists and attempting to push them away. 

“You can’t escape me!” Shuichi laughed, resting on top of his boyfriend and pinning his arms above him. 

Kokichi’s body wiggled about on the couch, and he arched his back with a whine. “Let me go!” 

Shuichi did, and collapsed on top of Kokichi. “I don’t have any energy left.” He murmured, putting all of his weight on to his boyfriend’s small frame. 

“Get off me! Shubear!” Kokichi complained, letting out a strained wheeze. 

Shuichi grinned, raising himself back up on his hands and leaning down to kiss Kokichi passionately. “Sorry, sweetheart. You know I wouldn’t kill you.”

“You’re a detective, you shouldn’t be killing anyone anyway.” Kokichi scoffed playfully, his arms coming up and around Shuichi’s neck. 

“I love you.” Shuichi cooed, nuzzling back into his darling’s warmth. 

“I love you too.”


	9. Pizza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gundham and Souda come over.

Shuichi’s fork poked at his pancakes repetitively. His fingers were tapping against the table, his mind racing in thought. It was supposed to be a nice, relaxing breakfast date with Kokichi, but Shuichi couldn’t help but fidgeting. 

“Hey, what’s wrong, Shubear? Are you not hungry?” Kokichi asked through his puffed out cheeks. 

“No, I was just thinking about Souda and Gundham.” Shuichi tried to shake the thought away from him, but it kept crawling up into the front of his conscious. 

“Yeah, I don’t think either of them is doing too well.” Kokichi shrugged, shoveling another spoonful of gooey, syrupy pancake into his mouth. 

“I’m not condoning Gundham’s actions, but I don’t think he was in the right state of mind.” Shuichi hummed, slicing his pancake into a smaller sliver. 

“There was a lot of alcohol involved.” Kokichi noted, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. 

“I know it’s none of our business, but I feel like I need to do something for them. Arrange a meeting of sorts.” Shuichi mumbled. 

“That could work, but we’d have to trick them. They wouldn’t agree to it by itself.” Kokichi smirked. 

“What would be the best strategy though?” Shuichi began to mutter to himself, trying to remember all of his good thoughts. 

“Hey, eat now think later. I can’t have you getting all malnourished and sick again.” Kokichi said sternly, pointing his fork at Shuichi with a playfully threatening expression. 

Shuichi laughed through his nose and slowly guided a piece of his pancake to his mouth. 

——————-——————-——————-

They ate the rest of their pancakes and paid the bill, yet they lingered at the booth for a bit longer. Discussing the plans for a potential reunion of their neighbors, the two men provided insight for each other based on their own regions of experience. 

Kokichi thought of perfected lies that would lure them in without any suspicion out of the information Shuichi provided. 

Kokichi called them both separately on his phone, and was surprised either of them answered and agreed to coming over to their apartment. 

The two other men would arrive to Kokichi and Shuichi’s apartment soon, but in the meantime, Kokichi was watching Shuichi clean. 

“Hey, lovebug. Don’t overwork yourself too much.” Kokichi came up behind Shuichi and wrapped one arm around his stomach and his other hand came up to caress his neck as he kissed at it.

Shuichi paused cleaning the kitchen counter and leaned into the neck kisses, a blush dusting his cheeks. “We can’t have our apartment be dirty when guests come over.” He insisted, clenching his fist in his cleaning rag. 

“I think it’s clean enough. Plus, I’m sure they’re not going to look around our apartment and pick out every flaw.”

Shuichi sighed and turned around, grabbing Kokichi by his armpits and picking him up. “Fine. We have more time before they get here, though.” He murmured, littering his face and jaw with kisses. 

Kokichi giggled, and kissed the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth. “We have to order the pizza, lovebug.” 

Shuichi set his darling down and grabbed his phone, wrapping one of his arms around Kokichi’s torso. “Are we just getting cheese?” 

“We could get half cheese half pepperoni,” Kokichi suggested, “it’s not like Gundham or Souda will be eating anyway.” 

“True.” Shuichi sighed, beginning to nibble on his cuticles. He knew that the conversation would be awkward, violent even. However, his fervor for making sure Souda and Gundham got back together was burning strong enough for him to conquer the fear. 

Shuichi dialed the pizza place and placed their order. Not even a second after he removed the phone from his ear, there was a knock at the door. 

Kokichi raised an eyebrow and answered it, revealing the pale face of Kazuichi Souda. 

Shuichi pushed himself off of the counter. “Uh. Souda? You don’t need to be here for another thirty minutes.” 

Souda heaved a heavy and exaggerated sigh, his shoulders slumped and his hair seemingly limply hanging off of them. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”

Shuichi nodded slowly. “Right . . . well, I just ordered the pizza so it should be here in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

“Is anybody else coming?” Souda asked, rubbing his eyes with his fists before sitting down.

“I did invite Taka, but he got all nervous and started stuttering excuses not to come. His eyes seemed a little redder than usual. I think something is happening with him and Mondo.” Kokichi piped up, closing the door. 

“Something wrong with Taka and Mondo? Seriously? Every time we go out they’re the most lovey dovey out of all of us.” Souda scoffed, picking at his fingernails.

“Yeah, but wherever Taka is so is Mondo, and I haven’t seen him since the party where he was drunk out of his mind.” Shuichi commented. 

“Can we not talk about other people’s relationship problems?” Souda spat, an irritated look crossing his face. 

Shuichi grimaced at the fact the conversation was already becoming awkward. That’s when a knock at the door made them all stiffen up. 

“Pizza guy is here!” Kokichi chirped, rushing to the door. However, when he peeled back the door a pizza delivery man was not the culprit behind the knock. 

Gundham had arrived. 

“What are you doing here, you little-!” Souda roared, standing up and clutching his fists at his side. 

“Calm yourself, Kazuichi.” Gundham’s voice rumbled out from his chest and seemingly surrounded the room. 

“What are you doing here?” Souda hissed with malice once more, his once limp hair looking bristled as if he were a threatened feline. 

“I have come to set things straight, my paramour.” Gundham soothed, his red and gray eyes half lidded and his hands up. 

“Sure, sure, it’s totally not like you’re coming here just to try and win me over so you can just have your fun and then throw me to the dogs again.” Souda spat sarcastically, his words carrying a tone of pure venom. 

Gundham’s face softened, his eyes slightly widening at Souda’s statement. “Kaz . . . I . . . ” Gundham trailed off his eyes beginning to well up with salty tears. 

“What?” Souda croaked, his lower lip trembling with emotion. 

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I . . . “ Gundham sighed and gripped at his hair. “I never meant for it to . . . I didn’t want this!” Gundham let out a guttural sob. 

Souda began to cry, tears rushing down his face. 

Shuichi was frozen. Gundham had dropped his villainous facade, and Souda was expressing his raw emotion in a rare, vulnerable display. 

Gundham lunged forward and encompassed Souda in his arms. The pink-haired man struggled for a few moments, but relaxed into his touch and began to cry even harder. 

Gundham was muttering tender “I’m sorry”s into Souda’s ear as they both embraced in the middle of Kokichi and Shuichi’s apartment.

Then the door to the apartment suddenly swung open. It was Korekiyo with his arms filled with pizza boxes. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. Is this bad timing?” 

The whole room paused to look at him, not even daring to breathe. 

“The door was locked how did you-“ Shuichi began. 

“Ah . . . well you see,” Korekiyo blushed, “back in my . . . creeping days I picked the lock to your home to watch you sleep.”

“You what-“

“I may have also retrieved a spare key during that time as well. Much easier to enter a house when you have the . . . well normal way to so.”

“So that’s where that key went!” Kokichi chirped.

“I figured since we’re such good friends it would be perfectly acceptable for me to come in, but I’m afraid that must have been a misconception.” Korekiyo shook his head and sat the pizza down on the coffee table.

As he turned to leave, Kokichi yelled after him. “How did you know we ordered pizza?”

Korekiyo’s eyes widened as he held a second pizza to his chest. “I, uhm . . . adieu!” Korekiyo burst into the hallway and began to run in the direction of the apartment. Shuichi could hear him screaming in the distance. 

“Hajime! Rantaro! Please open the door!”

Gundham pulled back from the embrace and caressed Souda’s cheek in his large hand, and meshed their lips together in a passionate fashion.

Shuichi watched them kiss for a few more seconds until he saw a flicker of tongue, about to cut them off before Kokichi spoke up. 

“Hey! Stop making out in our house, save it until you get home!”

Gundham slowly pulled away with a quiet smack, tucking a few strands of pink hair behind Souda’s ear. “Shall we go, my dark king?” 

Souda nodded, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of Kokichi and Shuichi’s apartment.

Kokichi was about to shut the door before Shuichi heard Gundham wheeze and a heavy object fall on the ground.

Shuichi jumped to the door, afraid someone passed out, but was surprised to see Taka on the ground, his hands shielding him from harsh impact and looking down. 

“Woah, Taka, are you okay?” Souda asked, letting go of Gundham’s hand. 

“Ah, Kazuichi! I’m quite fine, yes!” Taka exclaimed with a hiccup, staggering to his feet. His eyes were bright red as if he’d been crying for days straight and his entire body was shaking, his hands going back and forth between fiddling with his wristwatch and quickly rubbing his eyes.

“Were you . . . crying?” Kokichi asked, the corners of his lips rising up into a grin.

“No! I merely just got something in my eye and had to scrub it out!” Taka defended quite loudly. 

“Where’s Mondo?” Souda asked, narrowing his eyes. 

Taka’s eyes grew glazed over with tears after hearing his beloved’s named, and he gasped in a breath. “Mondo is out.” He said firmly, his voice cracking at the end as his cheeks grew wet and flushed. 

Suddenly, he broke out into a sprint down the hallway and into the parking lot. His friends left in his wake simply watched in utter shock. That wasn’t the Taka they knew. Taka hardly ever lost his composure despite his tendency to get easily irked by simple things. Then again, they supposed that was one of the traits that one would need to become a prime minister as Taka wanted to be.

The silence was broken by Souda chuckling slightly as Gundham kissed the back of his neck ticklishly. “Shall we be on our way, my consort?” 

“I think so.” Souda whispered softly, his lips parted. 

Shuichi and Kokichi awkwardly watched as the two made their way to their apartment, giggling and rubbing on each other romantically. 

“So . . . pizza?” Kokichi grinned. 

“Pizza.” Shuichi affirmed, walking back into the apartment with Kokichi. Albeit the deliciousness that was being continually shoved in his mouth during their miniature pizza party, Shuichu couldn’t stop thinking about Taka. 

Surely he’ll be okay, Shuichi thought to himself and swallowed his gooey bite of pizza. Right? he finished his internal monologue off with the notion.


	10. Cobbler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyotaka comes over for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, kiyo.

After their encounter with Taka a couple days ago, Shuichi hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Everything about the usually perfect man was off. His hair seemed ruffled, his clothes had wrinkles in them and were loose, the laces of his boots weren’t tied correctly, and most importantly, Mondo wasn’t with him.

Shuichi was sure something bad had happened between the couple, so he called Mondo. To no surprise, he didn’t answer. He got the opposite response from Taka, however, and asked him to come over.

Kokichi was out grocery shopping, so it would just be Shuichi and Taka for half the day. 

Taka was currently sitting on the couch, struggling to keep his posture straight. 

“Do you want some tea?” Shuichi asked, grabbing his teapot and filling it with water. 

“Yes, please!” Taka piped, jumping up from the couch and taking three huge steps into the kitchen, his hands clasped together in a prayer like form. “What kinda do you have?”

“Uh . . . green tea, herbal tea, white tea, and this isn’t necessarily tea, but milk tea.” 

“I’ll take some herbal tea, please.” Taka watched Shuichi’s every move with his intense red eyes. 

Shuichi stood there until the teapot started screeching, and he poured the water into a teacup to prepare the tea that Taka had requested and handed it to him. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, Shuichi! I usually make myself tea at home but this was very nice of you.”

“It’s no big deal, Taka. You don’t have to thank me.”

“Well, it is a big deal! To me, at least. M-Mondo, uh . . . “ Taka faltered at the name, “doesn’t like tea, so I have to remind him to buy it at the store all the time!” He chuckled, his big eyebrows arched down. Well, they always were, but more so this time.

“Before you ask, Mondo and I are just splendid! He buys me all kinds of stuff, he’s such a sweet guy.” Taka rambled, blowing on his tea and leaning against the counter, his armband sliding down a little.

“Have you been eating?” Shuichi asked, Taka’s frame looking skinnier. Usually, he looked muscular even through his uniform and small frame. 

“Ah, yes! Mondo just hasn’t been getting a lot of food lately. He usually does the shopping.” Taka chuckled, glancing away from Shuichi to look at the floor. 

“Right. You just look skinnier than usual.” Shuichi rubbed the back of his neck, not wanting to make Taka uncomfortable. He knew how insecure the Moral Compass was. 

“Oh! Do you have any food I can cook us for lunch then?”

Shuichi held up his hands as Taka began ruffling through the cabinets. “No, no! You don’t have to cook anything!”

“Oh I insist!” Taka blubbered erratically, grabbing ingredients seemingly at random. “Would a cobbler suffice?” He asked, holding a can of peaches close to him. 

Shuichi watched curiously as Taka began preparing the meal in a hastened manner unlike him. “Hey, so about Mondo-“ Shuichi began. 

“How much sugar do you think we should add?” Taka interrupted in a rather loud voice. It was as if he was trying to avoid the topic entirely, his hands shaking as he made the dish. 

“Taka, you’re shaking-“ 

“I am not!” Taka suddenly shrieked, his hands clutched by his side. He had lost his composure, his facade breaking directly down the middle. “I am not shaking! I am fine! I do not need him!” He wailed, his hands slamming down against the counter tops. 

He began pacing around the room, his hands hitting against his head as he wailed and screamed. 

“I do not need him. I do not need him. I do not need him.” He repeated over and over and over again. Then he stopped in his tracks and turned to Shuichi. A shaky breath left him and Shuichi could see the tears trailing down his face. “I’m so sorry for my . . . outburst.” Taka whimpered before he broke out into tears once more. 

He dropped to his knees on the kitchen floor and began to rock back and forth “I don’t need him . . . “ his voice was distant and devoid of his spirit. 

Shuichi didn’t know what to do with his hands until he shook himself and fell to his knees as well to wrap his arms around Taka’s shoulders. “Hey, Taka, shh . . . take a second to breathe, okay?”

Taka looked at him as he took a few slow breaths, not speaking until his tears slowed to a stop. “Will you just let me cook us some lunch?” His voice sounded far away and broken. Shuichi nodded and let go of his shoulders. 

Taka stood up and wiped his face off with a paper towel, turning around to glare at the ingredients. “I formally apologize for my inconvenience. I guess my lack of eating has affected my mental state.” He firmly stated, beginning to make the cobbler. 

“It’s . . . quite alright. You didn’t cause me any trouble.” Shuichi said hurriedly.

Taka turned his head to look at him. His eyes were a violent shade of red as they had always been, but they carried nothing but kindness and appreciation. 

Shuichi stood silently against the counter as Taka precisely watched the cobbler bake in the oven. As soon as the cooking timer he had set up went off, he immediately retrieved the cobbler from the oven. He looked satisfied, genuinely happy. 

Shuichi helped him cut the treat and distribute it onto plates for both of them. “I believe this is quite a successful meal, yes?” Taka hummed. 

“Yeah it really is, Taka-“ Shuichi was interrupted as the door swung open revealing Kokichi with his arms filled with groceries. 

“Hey, boys.” He greeted with a wink towards Shuichi. He sat the bags on the counter before standing on his toes to give a temple kiss to Shuichi. 

Shuichi raised an eyebrow as Kokichi headed back towards the door again. “Hey, where are you going, Kokichi?” 

“I’m hanging out with Korekiyo today.” Kokichi shrugged on his coat and checked his hair in the mirror that was hanging on the wall. 

“Really?” Shuichi asked, but the truth was soon made evident to him. 

The door opened once more, revealing Korekiyo. He had his mask off, his lipstick smeared across his lips and his neck covered in hickeys. He was dressed in a red robe that was rather thin and hardly concealing him. He was obviously drunk by the way he was swaying. In his hand he held the key to the apartment, but on his arms were two women all dressed in the same way. What made it even worse was that Shuichi knew them. 

First there was Aoi, her hair tied up rather tightly and dressed provocatively. She had the same red robe draped over her body, but underneath laid some sort of corset, skirt duo. “Hiya, Shuichi!” She purred, causing Shuichi to grimace. 

Then there was Miu, her face lit up with a confident smirk. Her hands were trailing up Korekiyo’s arm causing him to fidget at the ticklish sensation. “Hey, Pooichi! Still a virgin?” She spat with a cackle. 

“Oh hello there, Kokichi. It’s time for our . . . erm . . . our . . . ” Kiyo trailed off. “What time is it exactly? When are my classes?” 

Kokichi sighed. “I’ll take you home, Kiyo.” 

The purple haired man stepped outside and wrapped Kiyo’s arm around his shoulder. “Can you guys leave now? You’re kind of bothering everyone.” Kokichi rolled his eyes. 

“Kiyo! Tell your stupid neighbor that you love me and I deserve to be with you right now!” Aoi stomped her foot and pouted. 

“Pardon me lovely, but who are you?” Kiyo slurred. 

Kokichi smirked as Aoi let out a frustrated huff and left abruptly, crying. “And Miu . . . I’m sure you have someone else to be doing, right?” 

Miu laughed at Kokichi’s insult. “You’re right! I’ve got an appointment in 30 minutes with a client! Bye, losers!” She laughed and set off after Aoi. 

Shuichi turned to Taka awkwardly. “Do you want to go home or-“ 

“Ah, yes! Thank you for your time, Shuichi!” Taka bowed to his host before leaving quickly for his apartment.

Shuichi sighed and went over to help Kokichi support Korekiyo to his apartment. They reached the apartment a few doors down from theirs and knocked. 

The door opened, revealing Rantaro in only a shirt and his boxers at the door. “Oh, God . . . ” he sighed, looking at the mess Korekiyo was in. 

“Rantaro!” Shuichi exclaimed.

“You’re a part of this shenagian too?” Kokichi groaned. 

“Who is it, Rantaro?” A voice rose from within the complex. It was Hajime who was wrapped in a blanket on the couch. From the looks of it, he was only wearing his boxers and a loud blush that covered his entire face once he realized who was at the door. 

“Hajime, can you come take Kiyo for me?” Rantaro cooed back to the man on the couch. 

Hajime ran over, and took Kiyo from Shuichi and Kokichi. “You always end up like this when you go there, Kork!” He scolded, holding the taller man’s face in his hands. 

“Hajime, my love!” Korekiyo responded with a grin, sloppily kissing him on the cheek. 

Hajime only sighed and brought Korekiyo to some location in the apartment.

“Thank you guys so much for bringing him. This happens more often than you’d think.” Rantaro shook his head and leaned against the doorframe. 

“What's going on here?” Kokichi asked. Shuichi winced; he was prying into something very private. 

Rantaro chuckled, “To be honest, I don’t even know myself really.” He rubbed the back of his neck shyly and let out a hiss. 

“Kiyo dates Hajime, Chiaki, and I full time, but he also sees people on the side in a more less uh… risqué manner.” Rantaro explained. “We’re like one weird family.” He laughed heartily. 

Kokichi hummed in thought before he turned back to Shuichi. “Well, lovebug. We better get going.” He smiled. Shuichi nodded and grabbed his hand. 

“Take care of Korekiyo for us, Rantaro.” Shuichi said on a final note. 

“Sure thing.”


	11. Mondo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyotaka opens up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the betting money will be going to me, bet on kiyotaka or mondo to win.

Shuichi was being shaken awake by somebody who wasn’t very strong. He opened his eyes blearily to find Kokichi in a cold sweat and shaking. 

“Shuichi, I . . . take me to the bathroom, I-I can’t walk there by myself-“ He wheezed, his eyes sliding closed.

Shuichi bolted up, swinging his legs off of the bed and helping Kokichi to the bathroom without a word. His boyfriend fell to his knees by the toilet and hurled before falling forward.

Shuichi gasped, grabbing his hair and his face to pull him from landing face first into the toilet. 

He reached for Kokichi’s wrist to check for his pulse, and was horrified to feel nothing there. “Kokichi! Kokichi, wake up, please, Kokcihi-“

“Shuichi!”

Shuichi bolted upright with a gasp, clutching his chest and looking over at Kokichi.

It was just a dream.

“Kokichi! You’re okay!” Shuichi wailed, holding his face in his hands. 

“Yeah, Shubear, I’m fine.” Kokichi rasped, pulling his hands from his face and holding them. “What happened?” He whispered, stroking Shuichi’s cheek. Shuichi’s bottom lip quivered and he averted his eyes away from Kokichi’s intense stare. 

“Just . . . just a bad dream. That’s all.” He sighed. He turned back over into his side and pulled the duvet up to his ears, not wanting to think about it anymore. 

“Honey, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me anything.” Kokichi cooed. “If something’s bothering you, and I can fix it. Please tell me, Shubear.” 

Shuichi clenched his eyes shut, and exhaled tensely. He then shot up into a sitting position and placed his hands on Kokichi’s shoulders. “I’m afraid of losing you, okay? I know you’re fine now, but what if it happens again? Kokichi, I can’t handle losing you.” Shuichi cried out, his voice raw. 

Kokichi’s eyes became watery, and his mouth was hanging open slightly. He reunited his lips and sighed before looking back to his boyfriend. “Shuichi, I’m fine okay? It was probably just a little immune system mishap. I’ve never felt better, I swear.” Kokichi comforted his lover. 

Shuichi sniffled and wiped his face roughly of all the tears and snot and evidence that he was upset. “I know but-”

“Shubear, it’s okay. Please, just calm down and rest. You’re going to work yourself to death if you keep doing this.” He whispered, placing one hand on Shuichi’s chest to guide him down to the mattress. Shuichi sniffled as he looked up at Kokichi from his lying position. “Good boy.” Kokichi smiled and laid down with him. 

However, once Shuichi had fallen asleep Kokichi began to shiver. His stomach was in knots, he was sweating. He clenched his fists at his side, trying to keep in a whine of pain. “Why? Why now?” He hissed softly. He got out of bed hoping not to wake Shuichi, but his attempts were fruitless.

“Kokichi, where are you going?” Shuichi whimpered, his hand reaching out for him. 

“Just the bathroom. I promise I’ll be back soon.” Kokichi crooned in the darkness of the bedroom. 

Shuichi hesitated but eventually dropped his hand and snuggled back into the covers and his pillow. 

Kokichi was breathing heavily as he made his way to the bathroom, where he wouldn’t be heard by Shuichi. His head felt suddenly light, and he clutched onto the wall for support. “No, no, no. Not right now.” He begged to his body. His eyes were fogging over with little black dots. “No, please.” He squeaked, before he finally surrendered and fell limply to the ground. 

————————————————————

Morning arrived quicker than Shuichi would have liked. When his eyelids rose and revealed his eyes, he found no Kokichi next to him. He bolted up and threw the sheets off his body, running into the bathroom to find his boyfriend brushing his teeth normally. 

Kokichi turned to him and smiled. “Hey, Shubear!” He exclaimed, his toothbrush still in his mouth. 

Shuichi let out a breath, smiling back nervously. “I thought something happened!”

Kokichi faltered and didn't answer for a second. “Nothing happened. Just brushing my teeth. I wish you slept longer so I could have made you breakfast in bed!” 

Shuichi laughed, but was cut short when he noticed a cut on Kokichi’s cheek. “How’d that happen?”

“Oh, this? My cheek was itching and I scratched myself a little too hard. Nothing serious, Shubear.”

Shuichi nodded a little, narrowing his eyes. “Well, I’m gonna go make breakfast. Take your time making yourself pretty.” 

As Shuichi walked away, he could hear Kokichi’s whines and insults. He smiled, and prepared some tea and grabbed the bottle of honey. 

In the middle of making breakfast, there was a knock at their apartment door. 

Kokichi went to answer it and was surprised to see a certain white wearing man. “Kiyotaka?”

“Good morning, Kokichi! Shuichi!”

Shuichi turned from making breakfast to look over at Taka. “What are you doing here?”

“I came over to see my best friends! Mondo is busy again today.” 

Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have anything to do?”

Taka looked over his shoulder. “Well, on my way here I had to tell Souda to stop running in the halls and Korekiyo to keep the PDA to a minimum.” He asserted, bringing one of his index fingers to his chin. “So, I only have to enforce the rules, I guess.” 

Shuichi nodded, turning the stove off. “Well, we don’t mind you hanging out with us for a while.”

Taka brightened up at that, entering the apartment and sitting on the couch. “Excellent! Chihiro came over last night, and that was quite fun!”

“Did Mondo enjoy their company?” Kokichi asked, taking his cup of tea and sipping it.

Taka stiffened, his hands forming into tight fists in his thighs. “Yes. He made us dinner and we cuddled like a normal couple after Chihiro left because I love him.”

“You sure you just cuddled?” Kokichi snickered, having no idea in the slightest how hard Taka was trying to keep his composure.

“Yes, I am very sure!” Taka asserted with furrowed eyebrows. 

Shuichi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kokichi, stop.” 

“Fineeee!” Kokichi groaned and went off to go do who knows what about the apartment. 

“So, how was Chihiro coming over?” Shuichi asked, trying to make conversation despite the uncontrollably awkward atmosphere. 

“It was lovely! They said they were worried that someone was sneaking into their room at night, but I reassured them that was just their imagination!” Taka looked proud of himself, like a parent talking about their successful child. 

Shuichi grimaced, “Did they say anything about red rope?”

Taka perked an eyebrow, “Yes, they did how did you-” 

“Nevermind!” Shuichi exclaimed. “I’m glad you were able to help them out, Taka.” 

Taka grinned and sat up straighter. “Me too, Shuichi! I’m always there to help.”

“Would you like some breakfast?” Shuichi had made an omelette and was cutting it in half.

“Oh, no thank you. I am not hungry this morning.” Taka reassured the other man in the room. 

“Right. How did you sleep last night?”

Taka’s skin was a pasty white and there were bags under his eyes, although they weren’t very dark. “I slept fine. Mondo has this thing where he likes to smother me in the middle of the night. That keeps me up. But I love him. I love him.” He ranted, blinking hard. 

“I love him. I love him . . . ” Taka trailed off. His hands snaked up to his chest and clutched the fabric of his shirt. “ . . . and he doesn’t love me back.” He let out a sob. 

Shuichi reached his hand out but quickly retracted it. “Taka, I . . . I don’t understand, can you explain to me what's going on?” 

Taka took a shaky breath and curled into himself. “It’s Mondo. I don’t know where he is. We got in a fight a few days ago and he took off. I-I love him, but he doesn’t . . . I . . . ” Taka was trembling, squeezing his eyes shut, his hands clutching at whatever they could find, which included his clothing and the couch cushions.

“What exactly happened?”

Taka hiccuped, his tears continuously running down his cheeks. He always was an emotional guy. “We . . . it was after the party Kazuichi and Gundham held. Mondo was drunk and kissing me. Nothing very serious happened, but eventually he got handsy and I told him that I loved him. We had never said that before. I just said it because I do love him! He is my entire world! I would do anything for him. After I said that he . . . he froze up and started freaking out on me! He left me without saying it back.” He sobbed, digging his nails into his thighs. 

“And you haven’t seen him since?” Shuichi asked, cautiously sitting down next to him and reaching a hand out to rub his back. 

“No. He hasn’t called, texted, or sent me anything. He hasn’t even tried communicating with me through somebody else.”

“Wait. You guys have never said you loved each other before? You’ve been dating since high school!” 

Taka ignored Shuichi’s statement. “But, I am fine. I do not need him! It’s not like I am some child in need of their mother every day.” He squared his shoulders and rubbed the palm of his hands against his bleary eyes. “I am my own independent man. How can I ever hope to become prime minister if I tear up at something so minuscule.” The word seemed to get stuck in his throat as he choked it out. 

Shuichi’s lips were parted. Mondo and Taka had always seemed so happy, so perfect. It seemed like their relationship was as pure and wholesome as it could be. How did he not notice all the cracks in it? 

“I will be taking my leave then. It’s impolite of me to bother you so.” Taka stood up and brushed off his jacket. “May we see each other again soon, Shuihi.” He said cordially before he set off out the door.

Shuichi sighed and held his head in his hands. He only peeked through his fingers when he heard the door open. It was Korekiyo. Ever since the masked man revealed he had a key to the couple’s apartment he’d been visiting very often. 

“Hello.” He greeted standing in the doorway. 

“Hi, Kiyo.” Shuichi groaned.

“Hey, masky.” Kokichi greeted with a grin, now in the living room.

Korekiyo rolled his eyes and turned to Shuichi. “I was wondering if you’d like to go on a double date with my . . . lovers and I.” 

Shuichi held back a wince. It would be a fun outing but Korekiyo’s love life was an awkward subject. “I think it’d be fun, let’s go, Shubear.” Kokichi shrugged. 

Shuichi shook his head but nodded anyways. “Yeah, okay.” 

Korekiyo’s eyes crinkled at the edges, showing that he was smiling under the mask. “Perfect. I will send you a text explaining the meeting in more detail later.” He said curtly, and with that he was off. 

“Why did you agree to that?” Shuichi hissed while pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“I knew your expression would be hilarious, that’s why.” Kokichi cackled. 

“I honestly hate you sometimes.” Shuichi sighed. 

“I love you too, babe.”


	12. Diner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Kokichi go on a double date.

“He said he’d be here by now.” Shuichi’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he tapped his foot against the tile floor of the small diner. 

“Chill out, Shubear. People are late all the time.” Kokichi hummed, placing his hands behind his head and chuckling under his breath. 

“Yeah, but still out of all people Korekiyo usually is pretty punctual.” Shuichi commented. That’s when the bell attached to the front door of the diner chimed as it swung open. Korekiyo emerged from the outside world. He was dressed in his usual complicated uniform and his mask was secured tightly around his face. Shuichi perked an eyebrow as he noticed the man only had one of his three lovers attached to his arm. 

Hajime was dressed rather cleanly, his face was newly shaven despite the fact he hardly ever had to shave. He was wearing a freshly ironed button up shirt along with his green tie. His left hand was trailing up Korekiyo’s bicep nervously while his other was stuffed in his pocket. 

Korekiyo strode over to the table where Shuichi and Kokichi were sitting. They settled across the booth from them. “Hey, sorry we’re late. Did you order already?” Hajime asked. 

“Ah, no. We were waiting for you.” Shuichi affirmed. 

Hajime looked regretful and averted his eyes to Korekiyo. “Chiaki has come down with some sort of illness and Rantaro remained back at the apartment to care for her, that is why they are absent from our date.” Korekiyo hummed.

The conversation was quickly ended as the waitress came over to take their order. They ordered quietly, and Shuichi noticed that all of them except Korekiyo politely ordered something that was of the cheaper menu. 

The food came rather soon to everyone’s delight. They chewed and swallowed slowly as to not rush the date to an end while making idle conversation. Shuichi began to feel anxious, a nervous hunch crept up his neck and into the front his consciousness. “W-We should be leaving now!” Shuichi squeaked. He grabbed Kokichi’s hand and pulled him to be standing next to him while he fished in his wallet for his share of the bill. 

“What? Why ever would you need to leave?” Korekiyo had an insulted look on his face and his eyebrows were furrowed. 

“H-Hey calm down, Kiyo. No need to pry into their personal-” Hajime began but he was swiftly cut off by Kokichi. 

“Shuichi, we don’t need to leave.” He clucked his tongue. 

“Yes, we do.” Shuichi swallowed. His hands were clammy and his chest was becoming uncomfortably tight again. 

“Shuichi, stop! Why are you acting this way?” Kokichi groaned like an annoyed parent as Shuichi began tugging on his wrist. 

“We need to go!” He was beginning to shout now, attracting a few odd stares from fellow patrons of the diner. 

Kokichi opened his mouth with a look that closely resembled a fiery, stormy sea. “God! Just calm down for once! We came here to have fun not for you to-”

Kokichi paused. He looked in pain, in grief. His body lost its fluidity, its liveliness. “No. Please, no.” He whispered, and in a moment he was on the floor. 

Shuichi felt alone. He was swallowed up by everything around him. “Ko . . . Kokichi?” He squeaked. He dropped to his knees. He was shaking. Everything was spinning. Hajime and Korekiyo were rushing over trying to speak to him. He was deaf. He was blind. Nothing made sense anymore. 

“Someone call an ambulance!” He heard someone shout. He felt hands on his shoulders shaking him. All he could do was let out a pitiful sob. 

“Sir? Sir? Sir, do you need me to call someone for you?” A voice asked. It seemed to attract others to him as well. 

“Sir, he will be okay.” 

“Someone get him some water!”

“Sir, let us help you.”

Shuichi cracked. He pushed the hands away from him and backed away like a scared child until he was against the wall. “No! I don’t want your help! Get away from me! All of you!” Shuichi roared.

Korekiyo’s face was softened. Hajime put his hands up in surrender and cautiously approached him. “Shuichi, please just come sit down.” He begged. 

“Kokichi will be alright, dear Shuichi. You need our help right now.” Korekiyo cooed like a mother to a scared child.

“God, how many times do I need to say it? I don’t need you!” Shuichi screamed. He flung the door to the diner open and ran out into the streets, running right into oncoming traffic. He was nearly hit, but the cars slammed on their brakes right before the impact. Shuichi felt tears running down his face, he heard the yelling behind him. With that he was gone to the wind. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Kokichi was blinded by the light as his eyes opened slowly. Another hospital room, he decided in the silence of the room. Someone was holding his hand, there was something poking into the vein of his arm.

“Shu . . . ?” Kokichi turned his heavy head, but was shocked to find Hajime sitting in the chair next to him. Korekiyo’s hand was placed on his lover’s shoulder and he seemed downcast. 

“He ran off once you fainted. We’ve called him so many times but he hasn’t picked up.” Hajime explained, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Oh no.” Kokichi moaned in emotional agony. Shuichi was probably getting mugged or beaten up every second he spent in bed. He sat up but the pain was enough to knock the wind out of him and send him back to laying down. “Shuichi . . . what if he.”

Hajime shushed him soothingly. “Just rest for now. I’m sure he can find his way around. After all, he brought his phone and his wallet with him.”

The door to his hospital room swung open revealing Rantaro and a sickly Chiaki. “You guys came too?” Kokichi asked as both Hajime and Korekiyo went to greet them at the door. 

“Of course we came.” Rantaro frowned. “I didn’t even know you were sick.” 

“Hopefully it wasn’t from me.” Chiaki sneezed. Hajime hummed and roped her into his arms.   
“I think he was sick before you were, baby.” He consoled. Chiaki only shrugged and buried her head into his chest while he swayed her. 

Korekiyo was holding Rantaro’s hand while his other swung around Hajime’s shoulder. “They have all tried to contact Shuichi as well, but all attempts were fruitless.” He sighed. 

Kokichi groaned and tilted his head to look out his window at the rainy city before him. “Stay safe, Shuichi.” He whispered. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Shuichi rested his chin in his palm, his elbow placed on his erratically moving knee. He was rain soaked, his socks were uncomfortably wet and his shirt was sticking to his chest exposingly. He had shed his coat and stuffed it in his backpack, not wanting it to get wet.

Shuichi was shaking. He grabbed his backpack and threw it a few feet away from him. “God! I’m such a coward!” He cried. The rain was picking up speed with his storm of emotions. “I can’t even be there when my boyfriend is suffering!” He sobbed. 

After a few more moments of heavy breathing and pulling at his hair he walked over to collect his bag. It had landed in a puddle, and the zipper had come undone. A few detective documents were deteriorating in the wetness and a few photos of him and Kokichi were swimming in it. 

Shuichi stuffed them back into his bag and heaved it onto his back. His eyes drifted over to the outline of the Hospital building against the sky. He let out a shaky sigh, before beginning to walk in the rain towards the building. He could have easily hailed a cab, or taken the bus, but he felt that to atone for his sins he had to take the long way for Kokichi. 

“Please be okay, Kokichi.” He whispered before he disappeared into the fog and rain.


	13. Rama Lama (Bang Bang)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korekiyo and the gang dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the song. idk if the link will work but it’s called rama lama (bang bang) by róisín murphy. 
> 
> https://youtu.be/VGzSFnLM4xA

Shuichi burst into the hospital soaking wet and sobbing. 

Several nurses came to ask what was wrong and if he was hurt, but he just choked out, “Boyfriend. I need to see my boyfriend.” 

He said Kokichi’s name and they told him to calm down and led him to his boyfriend’s room. 

His eyes were blurred by tears, but he was able to make out Korekiyo, Hajime, Rantaro, and Chiaki sitting in chairs next to Kokichi’s bed. He heaved a heart wrenching sob, water dripping off his hair and clothes on to the marble floor. 

So many thoughts were running through his head as he fell to his knees. What if Chiaki got him sick? His immune system isn’t doing so well. Why are they even here? Is Kokichi mad at him? He deserves so much better. He let out a scream of frustration and bit his arm. 

Korekiyo immediately stood and knelt down in front of him, gently taking his arm from his mouth. “Shuichi, calm down. Everything’s okay-“ 

“No! No it’s really not! God I mess up everything!” Shuichi backed away and wrapped himself up in his arms. He rocked himself back and forth on the floor, his arms wrapped over his head. “I’m a coward! I’m a coward! Good for nothing!-“

Kokichi suddenly leapt out of bed despite the amount of physical pain he was in and rushed over to Shuichi, nearly tearing out his IV in the process. 

Shuichi let out shaky breaths as Kokichi cupped his face in his calloused palms. “Hey . . . shh . . . “ he was smiling. Shuichi let out a sob. How could he be happy? How? 

“Don’t worry about trivial things right now, Shubear. I’m all right.” Kokichi shushed, using his thumbs to dry Shuichi’s tears. 

“We don’t blame you, Shuichi.” Korekiyo soothed from far away. 

“Yeah, we all have moments like that.” Hajime continued, causing Korekiyo to smile as he intertwined his fingers with Hajime’s. 

“That’s what makes us human.” Chiaki hummed, her hands placed over her chest. 

“It’s okay not to be okay.” Rantaro flashed Shuichi a soft smile and knowing eyes. 

Just then, Kokichi broke into an intense coughing fit. Shuichi instantly was by his side, beginning to cry again. “Hey, baby,” Kokichi grimaced, “I should probably get back in bed.” 

Shuichi nodded and led his boyfriend over to the hospital bed and tucked him in. “Do you have your bear?” Kokichi asked calmly, his hand holding Shuichi’s. 

Shuichi nodded through his tears and pulled out the stuffed toy from his backpack. Kokichi smiled and patted the spot next to him. “This bed’s big enough for two, you know.” 

Shuichi crawled into the space next to Kokichi and squeezed the wet bear. “I’m sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry for everything. You deserve better than me.” He whimpered.

Kokichi pressed his finger to Shuichi’s lips. “Shush. You were freaking out. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I was feeling bad.” He murmured, kissing his cheek.

Shuichi squeezed his hand and the bear. “Why? Why does this keep happening to you?”

Korekiyo stood by the bed and put a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. “Has he been sick for a while?” 

“I . . . ” Shuichi looked to Kokichi for answers. Kokichi nodded at him with a soothing smile and Shuichi sighed. “Yeah he has.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? Why did you face this all alone?” Rantaro furrowed his brows, his tongue sticking through the parting of his lips as he thought. 

“I’m sure they had their reasons, dear Rantaro.” Korekiyo hummed, his hand traveling to have a hold on Shuichi’s neck. 

Shuichi shuddered and shook the masked man away, causing him to sigh in disappointment. “When will you realize the beauty of my offer, Shuichi.” Korekiyo tusked softly. 

Hajime looked uncomfortable in the corner as Chiaki continued to rest of his chest. Korekiyo smirked at him before striding over to snake his arm around his waist. “Do not fret, Hajime. I still will continue to pamper you no matter how many delicacies I continue to collect for sister and I.” He crooned in a voice like velvet. 

Rantaro shook his head, “Anyways, I’m serious. Why did you hide this from us? You didn’t even tell Taka, Mondo, Souda, or Gundham.” 

“I . . . I don’t know why I didn’t.” Shuichi was beginning to shake. “I should’ve . . . I should have said something. I could’ve fixed this.” Shuichi began to scratch at his arms. 

Kokichi wrapped his arms around Shuichi’s neck and head and lowered him to his chest. “Hey, Rantaro. Cool it before I call a nurse to escort your little smarmy ass out of here.” Kokichi hissed. 

Rantaro only scoffed and stormed out of the door. Korekiyo followed after him suit. 

The hospital room was tense and silent. Hajime loosened his grip on Chiaki and looked at Kokichi with soft, worried eyes. “I’m sorry. Rantaro cares, he really does, but he doesn’t express it very well sometimes.” Hajime grimaced. 

Kokichi nodded and continued his petting of Shuichi’s hair. Shuichi only let out a whimper in response. 

Chiaki suddenly broke away from Hajime’s embrace and walked over to Shuichi. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled. 

Shuichi’s breath caught in his throat. Chiaki’s hold was comforting, although the feeling of her bosom against his back was slightly worrying. 

“It’s okay, Shuichi.” She whispered before letting out a yawn. “We all have flaws, we all make mistakes.” 

“If you blame yourself for everything, your future is going to be so bleak and dreadful.” Hajime added. 

“Why don’t you come over soon? I overheard a nurse say you could leave in a few hours.” Chiaki offered, her fingers gently massaging Shuichi’s back. 

“I don’t know-“ Shuichi hiccuped. 

“We’ll be there at 8.” Kokichi stayed with a grin. Shuichi gasped softly, but Kokichi only gave him a satisfied look out of the corner of his eye. 

———————————————————

Shuichi was pacing the living room. His shirt felt too tight, his hands were trembling. “We shouldn’t go, Kokichi. Something bad is going to happen. I know it will. I know it will.” Shuichi was nibbling on the delicate skin of his thumbs to try and calm himself down. 

Kokichi places his hands on Shuichi’s shoulders and stared him in the eyes despite the height difference. “Stop it, emo hat. Listen I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know if I want to know what’s wrong with me, but that doesn’t matter. We’re not going to let this stop us, Shubear. We’re going to keep moving forward and have fun.” Kokichi spoke with a fierce, stern tone. 

“E-Everything bad is going to happen. You’re gonna . . . pass out and Korekiyo is gonna advance on me!” He protested, breathing quickly.

“Shuichi! We’re going to Korekiyo’s apartment. I will not pass out. I will be fine and we’re going to have a good time.” 

Shuichi bit his lip but nodded, overcome by Kokichi’s sudden dominance. “Let’s go then . . . I guess.” 

The two set off to the apartment a few doors over. However, they were surprised to find the door unlocked and slightly open. “Kork? Buddy, ol pal? We’re here!” Kokichi peeled open the door and stuck his head inside. 

Shuichi’s mouth dropped open as he saw Kiyo standing in the middle of his living room, dressed in a rather revealing outfit. He was making familiar poses (oddly enough Shuichi couldn’t help associating them with a teenage girl with pink hair) in a rapid moment to a song. “Rama Lama Bang Bang!” He sang, looking as though was seizing through his dance moves. He stopped abruptly once he noticed the people watching him however. “Ah, hello!” 

“Kiyo, what the f-“ 

“Ah! It was a . . . ritual dance I found in one of my anthropology books. It cures . . . stress.” Korekiyo explained, yet it faintly sounded like an excuse. 

“Okay, well anyways. Where’s your uh . . . little posse?” Kokichi stepped through the doorway. 

“Chiaki, Hajime, Rantaro! Come here please!” Korekiyo cooed. 

The three lovers came into the living room, dressed in similar cultural clothing. “What’s going on, Korekiyo?” Shuichi asked nervously, 

“I thought we could perform the same said ritual in these cultural robes.” Korekiyo hummed, his hands coming together in a prayer like form. “I believe it would be an interesting contradiction to our other outings.” 

Rantaro looked like he wanted to secretly choke Korekiyo, and the outfit appeared rather itchy. 

Hajime was mouthing something to Shuichi. Shuichi interpreted it to be ‘do what he says, please’. 

Chiaki was puffing out her cheeks, and staring at Korekiyo with an annoyed look. 

“So what do you say, friends?” Korekiyo crooned with a creepy smile, his head tilted to the side. 

“Eh, maybe next-“ 

“Yes!” Shuichi interrupted with Kokichi. “Ah . . . I’m sure it would be a great experience.” He grinned falsely. 

Hajime looked relieved. 

So they went and changed into the robes before beginning to dance to the same song over and over and over again over the course of an hour. It was a very laborious and tiring exercise, leaving Kokichi and Shuichi exhausted after the song faded out for the last time.

“Ahh! Excellent! All your rituals were just excellent!” Korekiyo crooned, his arms spread out as he looked up to the ceiling. 

“It was difficult to learn at first.” Kokichi was wiping at his sweaty forehead and panting.

Shuichi awkwardly shuffled his feet together. “So . . . what now?” He asked. 

“Ooh I know! I have a great idea!” Chiaki chirped, raising her hands up like an obedient elementary school student in class. 

“And what is that idea, Chiaki?” Korekiyo inquired in his usual, dark voice. 

“We could have a sleepover!” She announced happily. 

“I’m down for it.” Rantaro shrugged. 

Hajime nodded and watched with a smile as Chiaki looked rather pleased with herself. “Why not?” He grinned. 

Shuichi looked to Kokichi nervously. What if he fainted again? What if something bad happened? What if something’s seriously wrong with him and he suffers something larger than just passing out? 

He raised his arm to begin his assault on it, but Kokichi took his hand in his own and smiled at the rest of the group. “We’re in.” 

Korekiyo’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Perfect.”


	14. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Kokichi stay at Korekiyo’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don’t know whether to laugh or spit.

Shuichi and Kokichi quickly ran to their apartment to gather some pillows and pajamas while the others stayed back at Korekiyo’s apartment to prepare the place. When they got back, the whole living room had been turned into a wonderland. 

There was a rather large blanket fort with fairy lights and snacks stuffed on the inside. The group had already changed into their pajamas and were waiting for them within the comfortable space. 

Shuichi and Kokichi both changed into their simple attire before joining their friends in the blanket fort. They watched a few movies and joked while eating all the food a doctor would scream at before sleep claimed its first victim. 

Chiaki was curled up against Rantaro’s chest. Her arms were wrapped around a considerably large bear while soft snores escaped her mouth. 

Rantaro was smiling, his ringed fingers running through her hair with a delighted grin. 

Hajime squirmed in his place. “I’ll take her, Rantaro. You can enjoy the movie.” He muttered, sliding Chiaki into his arms. However, by the blush on his face and his uncomfortable stance, Shuichi could tell it was an action of jealousy and not pure consideration. 

It was approaching midnight, when Hajime nodded off into sleep in an upright position with Chiaki leaning against him. Korekiyo was the responsible one of the group however, and laid them both on the pile of blankets on the floor to rest more comfortably in each other’s arms. 

Not even a half an hour after Hajime and Chiaki had fallen asleep, Rantaro joined them in dreams. It was rather sudden, he had just suddenly laid down without a word and fallen asleep in an instant. 

Now only Kokichi, Shuichi, and Korekiyo remained. The movies were practically abandoned, their volume on the lowest setting and no eyes captivated by their scenes. 

“Hmm . . .” Korekiyo was smiling at his multiple lovers, his bandaged hands running over their bodies with affection. “Perhaps I should join them.” He whispered. 

“Go ahead, we don’t care.” Kokichi mumbled, his head resting on Shuichi, who was wide awake and jittery. 

Korekiyo pulled down his mask and gave a soft, tender kiss to all of them. He then curled up next to Rantaro and within minutes his breaths became slow and even. 

Kokichi turned to Shuichi with a smirk. “Are we alone now?” He whispered mischievously. 

Shuichi looked back at the others once more. “Yeah, we’re all alone.”

“Come with me, Shubear.” Kokichi wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and grabbed Shuichi’s hand. 

He brought him to the bathroom and locked the door behind them. The lights were off as to not alert the others if they were to wake up. The only light was leaking through the crack from the living room. 

Kokichi helped Shuichi onto the counter and stood between his legs. He leaned in and kissed him, catching Shuichi off guard. Shuichi wanted nothing more to relish in his embrace after the last few stressful days, but he worked up enough strength to push him away. 

“Kokichi . . . I . . . we can’t, we shouldn’t.” Shuichi looked away bashfully, but the lack of light hid his expression well. 

“Why not?” Kokichi whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth and trailing more down to his jawline and neck. 

“What if we get caught?” Shuichi whimpered, unintentionally tilting his neck to expose more space to kiss.

Kokichi brought a hand to his neck and the other to his waist. “I locked the door, baby.” 

“T-That’s really not good enough.” Shuichi gasped for air, his hands wrapping around Kokichi’s neck. 

“If you stopped being so sensitive and whimpering at every little touch I made then we wouldn’t have this problem, now would we?” Kokichi teased with a smirk, continuing his assault on Shuichi’s neck and sometimes giving his lips light pecks.

Shuichi bit his lower lip and buried his blushing face into the crook of Kokichi’s neck. He felt a few hickeys being placed along his neck before Kokichi finally pulled away. Shuichi whined at the loss of contact. 

Kokichi chuckled. He placed his blanket around Shuichi and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Sorry, baby, but you’re right. It’s really not the time.”

“You started this.” Shuichi muttered, his head leaning against Kokichi’s shoulder with exhaustion. 

“Maybe it’s about time we got some rest ourselves, huh Shubear?” 

Shuichi could only nod. Kokichi helped him off of the counter and brought him back into the living room. Just as Shuichi was about to fall asleep, Kokichi whispered into his ear. “Do you have anything we can use to cover those hickeys? I went a little haywire.”

“I have a turtleneck back at the apartment.” Shuichi whispered tiredly, his hand instinctively going to run over his tender bruises. Kokichi nodded and pulled the blanket tighter around Shuichi. 

“I’m going to go get that, you just focus on resting up, baby boy.” Kokichi winked, going to cleverly sneak out the apartment. Shuichi smiled. He was still worried that Kokichi would faint again sometime, but they were happy for now, and that's all that mattered 

—————————————————————

Shuichi woke with a start, Kokichi’s arms around his stomach. It was very early in the morning, the only available light was the fairy lights that they had set up for the fort.

Shuichi could hear someone shuffling around the kitchen, and he closed his eyes for a moment before that said person entered the fort.

It was Korekiyo. His golden eyes immediately caught Shuichi’s gaze as he opened them. 

“Good morning, Shuichi.” 

Shuichi gently pried himself out of Kokichi’s arms and sat up, rubbing his blurry eyes with his fists. “Morning, Kiyo.” He yawned. 

“I have prepared some coffee if you would like some.” Korekiyo sat by his many lovers as Shuichi stood and changed into his turtleneck. 

“I’ll probably get some soon.” Shuichi fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt and watched Kokichi sleep.

“He will be okay, you know.” Korekiyo murmured, piercing golden eyes burning into Shuichi’s face. 

Shuichi frowned, running his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. “I wish I could believe that as easy as all of you can.” He whispered.

Shuichi scratched lightly at his arm. “I . . . I’m just worried. I don’t think I could… function if he . . ” Shuichi’s throat was a useless asset to him. His voice was shaking and he looked over at Korekiyo, his eyes shimmering with tears. 

The words were like a void he couldn’t grasp. 

“I know you how you feel, Shuichi. I often feel the same about my significant others as well.” Korekiyo glanced at his snoozing lovers.

“Have they ever fainted multiple times? Have you ever had anxiety attacks because you feel like you can’t help them? No, I don’t think you have.” Shuichi snapped.

Korekiyo’s face hardened at those words. His upper lip curled into a snarl and he scoffed. He pushed himself off of his hands and into his looking standing position over Shuichi. “So you believe that you can belittle my love for the three of them all by the standard of your reactions?” Korekiyo growled, his eyes dark with rage. 

Shuichi’s lips parted as he looked up at Korekiyo. He felt so small, so vulnerable in his friend’s presence. 

“You have no right!” Korekiyo’s voice shattered the whole atmosphere with its intense emotion. “You have no right to suspect my love towards my lovers! Not when you’re in the state you are!” 

Shuichi began backing away on his hands until they landed on Kokichi. 

“You are nothing but a coward!” Korekiyo screamed. 

Everyone was awakening now. 

“Korekiyo, I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry-“

“You’re sorry? I have dealt with so many sick people that I love. You cannot just say whatever comes to mind.” 

Hajime and Chiaki groggily yawned and slowly sat up to see the commotion happening before them.

“Kiyo . . . ?” Chiaki mumbled, raising her eyebrows. 

Korekiyo turned around, his wide, golden eyes seemingly glowing in the darkness. “Go back to sleep, my dears, everything is alright.” 

Rantaro was knuckling his eyes and placing his hand on Korekiyo’s shoulder. “What’s going on? Why are you yelling?” He asked softly. 

Korekiyo was red in what could be seen of his face. His hands were clenched so tightly into fists that his knuckles were white. “Get out.” 

Shuichi opened his mouth. Kokichi was stirring beside him. 

“Get out!” Korekiyo roared, Rantaro’s eyes were wide open as he held onto his shoulders to keep him from going on a rampage. 

“Shuichi? What’s going on?” Kokichi asked, he was fully awake, nestling his way around so he was positioned in front of his boyfriend. His hand tightened around Shuichi’s as if sensing his nervousness. 

“Kiyo . . . just calm down.” Hajime whispered meekly. 

Chiaki gently took Hajime’s hand which was reaching for Korekiyo’s body and pulled it close to her. “Don’t.” She mumbled as she looked at Korekiyo with soft sad eyes. 

Rantaro cringed as he stared at Kokichi and Shuichi. “Please guys.” He mouthed to them. All Shuichi could do was swallow his emotions and start gathering their things. 

Korekiyo watched, his chest heaving and his eyes glazed over with a rage that could rip the sky in half. He looked ready to slit their throats if they dared to try and negotiate. 

Kokichi grabbed Shuichi’s hand and rushed him out of the apartment once they had gathered their things and practically shoved him into their own. 

Shuichi began to cry. 

“Shh . . . it’s not your fault, sweetheart.” Kokichi shushed him, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the detective’s tears. 

“I didn’t mean to make him upset . . . I . . . ” Shuichi hiccuped and shrunk against himself. 

“I know, I know. I think Kiyo is just a little more sensitive to those types of comments, Shuichi. It was in the heat of the moment, anyway.” 

Shuichi twiddled his thumbs and cast his gaze downward. “Still, I . . . never mind.” He sighed, wiping off his wet cheeks and blinking the tears away. 

Kokichi led him to sit down on the floor. “How did you sleep last night? Your eyes seem strained.” He observed, tilting his head to the side a bit. 

“We fell asleep at like, one in the morning, Kichi. I woke up super early.” He mumbled, leaning against the coffee table. 

“Well, I think you need some rest and a little tlc, baby boy.” Kokichi whispered. “Let’s get you that blanket that you like and some water.” He hummed, helping him properly onto the couch. 

Shuichi rocked himself back and forth slightly while Kokichi prepared a comfort zone for both of them. 

Kokichi came back fairly quickly, his small arms holding a large wad of items. He shrouded Shuichi in his favorite blanket and tucked the pink bear by his side. Shuichi nestled his fingers underneath the cover to wrap his fingers around the arm of the toy. 

Kokichi pulled Shuichi’s head to his chest and kissed his scalp soothingly. “Everything’s going to be okay, babe. I promise.” 

Shuichi swallowed and closed his eyes. He wanted to believe Kokichi with all of his heart but his anxiety was raging against any hopes of tranquility of mind. 

Shuichi hummed in response. “I’ll believe you.” He whispered and with that Kokichi smiled and cuddled closer to Shuichi as they drifted off to sleep the rest of the day away, worries about Korekiyo flying through Shuichi’s head.


	15. Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter

The morning came with a sense of forgetfulness. It seemed both of the men were treating the events of yesterday as though they were a series of trivial dreams that were to be forgotten. 

Things went as they usually did. There was light streaming through the windows and eggs on ceramic IKEA plates along with cheap plastic forks. 

There was bliss in many ways from Kokichi’s hands wrapped around Shuichi’s waist to the open window inviting a faint breeze to tickle at their skin. 

They ate quietly, but it was not uncomfortable silence. There was hope and peace, with twinges of worry hidden deep within their mind. 

Shuichi wondered if Korekiyo would forgive him. If they could forget their outbursts like children with petty fights. Kokichi appeared unbothered by the thought however. It seemed as though he did not mind at all if he ever had to see Korekiyo again. 

“Do you think things will go back to normal?” Shuichi inquired softly, his hands danced across his computer keyboard as he worked on his detective documents. 

“Who cares.” Kokichi answered with a shrug. “As long as he’s not bothering us I don’t see a difference.”

Shuichi nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but Kokichi cut him off with borderline nervous urgency. “Have you ever thought about going solo?” 

Shuichi blinked, “What?” 

Kokichi fiddled with his fingers, “I know you work for a detective agency now, but what about becoming a private investigator with your own firm? A ‘be-your-own-boss’ scenario.” 

“Kokichi, why are you-“ Shuichi began only to be cut off by the doorbell being rung.

The lovers looked at each other with expressions of multiple emotions. Shuichi got up first, his laptop abandoned after he saved his document for a final time. Kokichi bit his lip, his hands tapping against the kitchen counter. 

Shuichi peeled open the door and inhaled sharply. It was Rantaro. 

Rantaro didn’t have his usually calm and collected look dominating his frame. His hair was messy, his eyes had bags under them. He was dressed in his pajamas from the night before, and his face had a hollowed out look. 

“Kork isn’t doing so well.” Rantaro explained, pressing the heel of his palm to his eye. “I’ve been up all night making sure he doesn’t do anything reckless.” 

Shuichi swallowed and stared at Rantaro as he made shaky breaths. “I’m sorry. I’m sure Kork is too.” 

The wind blew on them both, winding around their bodies like a message to both of them. “Well, that’s all I have to say.” Rantaro mumbled, nudging a pebble with his foot before turning to head back to Korekiyo’s apartment. 

“Ah! Hey, Rantaro!” Shuichi called after him. 

Rantaro turned around with his eyebrow raised as an invitation for him to continue. 

“Tell Korekiyo I’m sorry too.” 

Rantaro smiled, the corners of his lips seeming to stretch past their limit. “Will do, Shuichi.” 

Then, he disappeared into the world within Korekiyo’s apartment. Shuichi stared for a few seconds before Kokichi’s hand upon his waist startled him. He turned to give Kokichi a kiss on the mouth. 

Kokichi opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His eyes followed a figure walking in the hallway. 

“Mondo?” 

Shuichi snapped his eyes to the muscular biker, raising his eyebrows as high as they could go. Mondo had paused in the middle of the hallway, his light violet eyes glaring at them. “The hell you want?” He hissed gruffly. 

Shuichi frowned, peeking down the hallway. “Where are you going? Where have you been?” 

“What’s it to you? Why’re you interrogatin’ me all of a sudden?” He huffed and shuffled awkwardly in his place. 

“Where did you go? Kiyotaka has been worried sick, you know.” Shuichi harrumphed.

“How would you know? You guys never hang out.” Mondo scoffed, crossing his arms and furrowing his brows.

Kokichi had let go of Shuichi’s waist a long time ago and put his hands on his hips.

“He came to visit us while you were gone, Mondo.” Kokichi stated, narrowing his eyes a little.

Mondo didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “What did he tell you?” He demanded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shuichi asked. “Are you afraid he said something he shouldn’t have said?” 

“Shut up! Stop acting like you’ve got everythin’ figured out.” Mondo slammed his hand against the wall of the apartment right by the open door. “You’re not in my head! You don’t get to know what’s happenin’!” Mondo roared. 

The motorcyclist looked disheveled. His pompadour was coming undone to reveal its natural form and his eyes had bags under them. “Just shut up! I love Taka, okay? I love Kiyotaka more than anything on this goddamn-“ 

The sound of a door creaking open startled all of them. It was Taka, and for once he wasn’t in his uniform. “Mondo?” He whispered shakily. 

“H-Hey, sweets.” Mondo swallowed a knot in his throat. Taka suddenly rushed out of the apartment and slammed into his chest. He began to sob as he clutched the fabric of Mondo’s shirt in his hands. 

Kiyotaka pulled away for a second and furrowed his eyebrows. “Taka, baby, listen to me-“ Mondo began only for Taka to viciously slap him.

“No! Mondo Oowada, I will be the one talking here, you jerk!” He harrumphed. He began making intense hand movements as he told off his boyfriend. “Do you know how worried I was? How many times I cried myself to sleep? I even burdened our dear friends here which is not a good trait for a prime minister to have!” Taka raged on and on. 

Mondo was still smiling though, despite the red handprint on his cheek and Taka’s scolding. 

Mondo scooped Taka into his arms but the shorter man continued to beat at his biceps. “Let go of me you a-s-s!” Taka whined pitifully. 

“You can swear, you know.” Mondo chuckled, setting him down on the floor.

“I don’t like profanity, Mondo. Or have you forgotten for being away for so long?”

Mondo’s good mood got withered as he sighed. “I’m so sorry, Kiyotaka. I don’t know what got into me.” 

Taka let out a huff and crossed his arms against his chest. “I suppose I can forget about that for now, for I just prepared exactly two waffles and they are going to get cold if we do not hurry and digest them.” 

Shuichi smiled, although Taka was trying to sound annoyed and as though the waffles were an important subject he knew it was simply an excuse, a coverup for his real emotions. 

“Well, that was . . . odd.” Kokichi murmured, closing the apartment door. 

Shuichi shrugged, and was startled to hear the crack of thunder and the fierce patter of rain. He rushed to close the windows so the water couldn’t get in. “Why did it start raining so suddenly?” 

“I don’t know. It’s not going to ruin my mood, though.” Kokichi turned Shuichi around and cupped his cheek. He lifted himself on his toes to cover their six inch difference and softly meshed their lips together. 

Shuichi slotted his lips against Kokichi’s own slowly, his eyes fluttering shut. His hands snaked into Kokichi’s hair, definitely leaving a few tangles in their midst. Kokichi hummed thoughtfully, teasingly poking his tongue through the shield of Shuichi’s lips. 

“I would never want to leave you like that.” Kokichi muttered his words punctuated by a passionate colliding of their lips. 

Shuichi’s face was red hot, his body felt like there was fire ants crawling in his veins. “Please don’t.” He responded. 

Kokichi placed a hand on Shuichi’s chest and guided him backwards against the nearest wall. 

The storm outside only increased in power in time with their kisses, the wind whipping the trees around and the rain pounding on the roof.

Kokichi tasted like straight up sugar. He always put what seemed like a gallon of syrup on his pancakes and so much sugar in his coffee that it clumped at the bottom. Shuichi didn’t like sweets much, but Kokichi could be the only exception. 

Kokichi led him to the couch and lowered his hand from his cheek to Shuichi’s neck, beginning to trail kisses there in a frenzy. 

The sound of thunder and heavy breathing flooded Shuichi’s mind. He opened his eyes and rested his hands on Kokichi’s waist. 

One of the last things that ran through Shuichi’s head was, “At least he’s doing better.”


	16. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gundham and Souda come over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the dialogue heavy chapter. just a reminder, i’m not the only writer here! i did write this chapter all by myself, but we both enjoy comments on our story! we don’t bite :)

Shuichi awoke to the low rumbling of thunder and Kokichi’s slow breathing stirring his hair. 

Shuichi took a moment to look at Kokichi’s face in the little light there was in the bedroom. His eyelashes were fanning over his cheeks and his lips were pretty and soft looking. Shuichi bowed his head down a little to lock his own lips with his beloved’s. 

Kokichi stirred, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He relaxed after a moment and pressed his face into the pillow, still sleeping.

Shuichi huffed a quiet laugh and sat up to look out the window. The sky was an ungodly black and the rain was not letting up. He was surprised the power hadn’t gone out. 

He swung his legs over the bed and pulled open a drawer to get a pair of boxers and put them on. Shuichi grabbed his phone from its place on the bedside table and saw a text from Gundham. He was inviting them to go get some tea or coffee. Shuichi was hesitant to send an affirmative, considering he was worried about Kokichi, but he knew his boyfriend would force him to go rain or shine. Hopefully the storm calms down in the meantime, Shuichi thought.

“I’ll get a snack for right now.” The words were whispered as Shuichi stood, not bothering to put a shirt or pants on, and padded into the kitchen. He opened the sliding door of their pantry and decided on some plain chocolate pocky. 

He sat on the stool by the counter and released a yawn so wide it hurt his jaw. He raised his head to the sound of footsteps down the hall.

It was Kokichi. And he was completely naked. 

Shuichi sputtered for a second, his eyes wide. “K-Kokichi! Put some clothes on!”

“That’s not what you were saying last night.” Kokichi murmured, wrapping his arms around Shuichi’s midsection and nuzzling his face into his chest. 

Shuichi flushed all down his neck and looked down at Kokichi’s hair. “What if someone comes over and sees . . . ?”

“Then I won’t do it again, Shubear.” Kokichi slid into his boyfriend’s lap. Shuichi wrapped his arms around Kokichi and let his eyes roam over his body.

“I mean, I don’t mind the view, it just makes me nervous.” 

“None of the lights are on, it’s storming outside, and it’s early in the morning.” Kokichi mumbled, lifting his head to look Shuichi in the eyes. He leaned forward and initiated what would be a passionate and very slow makeout session.

After a few moments, Shuichi whispered in between kisses, “Gundham and Souda want to meet for tea.” 

Kokichi groaned, his forehead falling on to his chest. “We haven’t had any quality time in a while. I miss you.”

“I-I know, Kokichi, but . . . I already agreed to them coming over. I don’t think we’re actually going out anywhere soon because of the storm, so . . . they could be here any minute.”

Kokichi slid off of Shuichi’s lap and planted his feet on the ground. “I’ll be right back then. Unless you want to come with me to get dressed?” He asked.

Shuichi nodded and followed his lover to their bedroom and put on a gray turtleneck sweater, black socks, and black pants. Kokichi just put on a t-shirt and some sweatpants.

The couple migrated into the bathroom to brush their teeth and take their medicine. After Shuichi took his medicine and washed up, he kissed Kokichi’s cheek and headed into the living room where his beloved soon joined him. 

“Before you sit down can you grab the pocky that I left out and bring it here? Then we can cuddle and watch TV before they get here!” Shuichi knew that Kokichi was a little upset that they couldn’t spend some quality time together. Usually the roles were switched and Kokichi had to comfort him. 

Kokichi did what he was told and sat down next to Shuichi. “Play the pocky game with me, Shubear.” He uttered, taking one and putting the plain part in his mouth. 

Shuichi sighed but smiled and complied, taking the chocolate end in his mouth and taking a bite. Kokichi followed suit and took a bite so big their noses were touching. Shuichi took the last bite and pressed their lips together for a second before pulling away. 

“I love you.” 

Kokichi blinked, caught off guard. They didn’t say that to each other very often, and when they did it meant something serious. 

“I . . . uh. I love you, too, Shubear. Where’d that come from?” He laughed nervously, his usual facade breaking. 

“You know where it came from. All your health has been getting in the way of things and messing with you and I. Plus, we haven’t said it to each other in a while.” Shuichi grinned, more happy than he’s been in a while. 

Kokichi grumbled and snuggled up to him, his bottom lip sticking out. 

“Just pick a show to watch already.”

 

Shuichi had started to doze off from the sound of Kokichi’s breathing and the rain hitting the roof, but the sound of knocking at the door jolted him awake. 

Kokichi stood and answered the door to reveal Souda and Gundham side by side. 

“Good afternoon, mortals.” Gundham stepped in with his boyfriend and waved to Shuichi. 

“Hi, Gundham. Souda.” Shuichi got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. “Tea time?”

“That would be nice.”

“What have you guys been up to?” Kokichi asked, following them to the couch while Shuichi prepared the tea. 

“My paramour and I have been spending more time together.” Gundham looked over to Souda. 

Souda crossed his arms. “I wish the weather wasn’t so bad, I would have enjoyed going outside. At least I’ve been able to work on some contraptions.” He grinned, and continued to ramble about his machines and creations.

Shuichi listener from the kitchen, and then walked into the living room with a platter holding four cups of tea and a container of sugar. 

“Thanks, Shubear.” Kokichi kissed his cheek and immediately grabbed the sugar off of the platter and took the cap off, pouring at least two handfuls in his cup.

“K-Kokichi! Stop pouring so much in there!” Shuichi snatched the sugar from him and screwed the cap back on.

Souda stuck his tongue out between his sharp teeth. “Gross, dude. It’s gonna clump at the bottom.” 

Even Gundham look repulsed at the sight of all the sugar floating in the small teacup. 

“Y-You guys are so m-mean to me!” Kokichi stuck out his bottom lip as crocodile tears welled up in his eyes and trailed down his cheeks.

Shuichi cringed, glancing over to Souda and Gundham. They only ignored Kokichi and blew on their tea to cool it down. 

A squeak was what stopped Kokichi’s fake tears. The source of the noise rustled Gundham’s scarf and popped out. He had brought his Four Dark Devas of Destruction with him.

“Oh, I apologize. I hope it is alright that I brought my devas with?”

Kokichi gasped and set down his cup so fast that the sugar condemned tea sloshed out the sides. “Can I hold them?” 

Gundham hesitantly handed his pets over to Kokichi, watching them closely. “One wrong move and they could become their true forms.” He warned, though it was obvious he was nervous about Kokichi manhandling his precious hamsters. 

“I recently built them tunnels all throughout the house so they could get some exercises. Gundham thinks it’s awesome, right?” Souda asked, looking like a proud father. 

Gundham nodded. “Indeed, my Prince of the Night. I’m sure my devas enjoy the exercise as well.”

Shuichi tilted his head to the side in thought. “Do your devas get along well with Souda?”

Souda rolled his eyes. “Barely! They always love on Gundham and get jealous when he has to put them back cause we’re hanging out.” 

Gundham let his lips stretch into a smile as he took his last sip of tea and set the cup down. “Kazuichi, you get jealous of them.”

Kokichi was cooing at the hamsters and letting them run up his arms and down his legs. “What are their names?”

Souda perked up. “I know! Okay, the fat - sorry, chubby - one is called Invading Black Dragon Cham-P, the one with the chipped ear is Crimson Steel Elephant Maga-Z, the sleeping one is Supernova Silver Fox San-D, and the fast one is Mirage Golden Hawk Jum-P.” 

Gundham hummed. “Very good, Kazuichi, but you switched Jum-P and San-D.” 

Souda cursed under his breath, and Shuichi smiled. He was happy they seemed to be getting along. “So . . . what happened with Sonia?” He asked. 

Gundham raised an eyebrow, smirking. “She is no longer a problem. Right, Kazuichi?”

“Right! She followed us after the incident. She thought Gundham and I broke up for good and tried begging Gundham to stay with her.” Souda scoffer, glowering the thought. “Yeah, we used to argue over who would date Sonia back in high school, but now we’re a thing.”

Kokichi handed Gundham his devas back and stirred his tea, particles of the sugar floating at the top. “That party was just weird in so many different ways.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. Souda opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the lights flickering and then shutting off entirely.

Shuichi’s eyes widened as he heard a few of their neighbors let out a scream of surprise, and the loud boom of thunder.


	17. Ramen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi makes lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you know what ponyo is i love you

Shuichi had lit some candles and turned on his phone flashlight. The group sat back around the coffee table. 

“I knew the power would go out!” Souda exclaimed, getting up to stand by the window and watch the storm. 

Gundham gasped, “You too possess the power of the legendary eye of the all-seeing?” 

Souda scoffed, “No, you idiot! Have you ever heard of a hunch?” 

“Now now, lovebirds! Don’t be getting all steamy in the middle of our living room! I mean . . . unless you’re into that type of thing-“ Kokichi smirked. 

“Kokichi!” Shuichi interjected with a blush. “Anyways, I wonder how Korekiyo’s doing.” He sighed. 

“He’s probably fine. That weirdo can take care of himself.” Kokichi stuck his tongue out and made a fake vomiting sound. 

“Kokichi, I know you’re upset with him and all but you still shouldn’t talk about him like that.” Shuichi frowned. “I’m genuinely worried for him.” 

Kokichi rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Fine! Since you’re such a softie, we’ll go check on him, okay?” Kokichi set off towards the door to the apartment.

They all exited the apartment and were surprised to see almost everyone out in the hallway of the apartment complex.

Mondo was leaning against the wall while Taka went around and shouted instructions. Kaito had wrapped his arm around Maki’s shoulder and was using his other hand to scratch at the back of his neck awkwardly. 

Korekiyo was clustering his lovers together like a mother hen making sure all of her chicks were secure. 

“Everyone! It is okay! If we all stay together the power outage will simply be a mere inconvenience!” Taka shouted over the chaos. 

“Man, you’re taking this way too seriously.” Kaito sighed. Maki simply huffed and turned her nose up at the situation. 

“Babe, your intentions are good here, but I don’t think anyone cares.” Mondo whispered to Taka. 

“Nonsense!” Taka cried, but even he had to face the truth. No one in the hallway really acknowledged what he was saying.

He looked a little heartbroken. Mondo sighed and kissed his temple in hopes of cheering him up. 

The thunder rumbled quietly and slowly rose in volume. Shuichi turned as a soft whimper was heard through the hallway. 

Hajime was nestling further into Korekiyo’s chest. He was shaking and crying like a child might. “There, there, my love. Believe me, I will not stand to let any harm befall upon you tonight.” Korekiyo shushed his lover, stroking his hair diligently with his long, deft fingers. 

“We’re here for you, Hajime.” Chiaki smiled her warm grin. “Once the power comes back on, we can make something to eat and cuddle on the couch.” She hummed, trying to distract Hajime. 

“It’s just a little noise, sweetheart. I know it’s scary but you can get through it, right?” Rantaro cooed. 

Hajime nodded and wiped away the tears that were staining his face. “Yeah . . . I can face this.” He mumbled, but when thunder cracked through the air again he became distressed once more. 

Korekiyo engulfed Hajime into his arms even further. “It’s alright, my darling. You tried your best.” He soothed. 

Rantaro dug in his pocket for his phone and a pair of earbuds. “Here, Hajime. It might run my phone battery down but you can block out the noise with this!” 

“Good idea, Rantaro!” Chiaki praised, grabbing Hajime’s hand. She rushed him over to the corner of the hallway and nestled him in the small space. 

Rantaro followed the two, sitting next to Hajime and helping him put in the earbuds despite his shaking hands. “I only have a few downloaded songs I can listen to offline, so you’ll have to bear with me.” 

A clammy hand grasped at Shuichi’s. He turned to find a sweating and pale Kokichi. 

“Are you okay, Kokichi?” Shuichi kneeled down and looked into his eyes. 

Kokichi scoffed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m fine, Shubear. I’m no wimp.”

Shuichi rolled his eyes and stood, his hand traveling up to his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Sure.” He looked around the hallway to find other couples. 

When he saw Taka and Mondo again, Taka’s ruby red eyes were shimmering with tears as they slipped down his cheeks. Shuichi was gonna ask what was wrong, but Mondo quickly ushered him back into the apartment. 

Kokichi tugged in his boyfriend’s sleeve. “C’mon, Shubear. Let’s just go back inside and wait it out.” 

Shuichi was about to agree, but a bandaged band on his shoulder stopped him. He froze.

“What do you want, Korekiyo?” Kokichi seethed, taking Shuichi’s hand again. 

“I wanted to apologize for our quarrel the other day. I didn't mean to snap at you.”

Shuichi raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry, too, Kiyo. I shouldn't have said what I did. And I accept your apology.”

Korekiyo’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Wonderful!” He exclaimed, enveloping Shuichi in a hug. He could only return it awkwardly with the height difference. 

As if it were a miracle, the lights flickered and turned on. Cheers were heard from upstairs and down. 

Kokichi tugged on Shuichi’s hand over and over. “Shubear! Shuichi! Shu! Come on!” He whined, opening the apartment door.

Shuichi sighed and bid farewell to all his friends and entered the apartment with Kokichi. 

“So, what do you want to do today, Shubear?” Kokichi has his hands behind his head and was swirling about in their living room. 

“I could make us some lunch! You can just relax, Kokichi. Want some ramen?” 

Kokichi cackle, “What are you, my butler? You don’t have to do all the work around here. But sure, I’ll have some ramen.”

Shuichi nodded and grabbed a couple pots and all the ingredients. He boiled two eggs and prepared some ham and chives. “Do you want everything in your noodles?” He asked. Kokichi said an affirmative.

Once the noodles were done, he got two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks and poured the noodles into the bowl. He cut one egg in half and set it on top of the noodles, sprinkled some chives with it, and laid two halves of ham on top of each other. He did the same thing to the other bowl. 

Once he was done cleaning up, he got two cups and prepared some wine. He brought all of this to the living room and set it on the dining table. 

“You did the Ponyo recipe?” Kokichi took his chopsticks and blew on his ramen.

Shuichi smiled and nodded. “Yes, I thought you’d enjoy it.” 

Kokichi looked confused for a moment, but he then smiled. “How thoughtful, Shubear.” He murmured, leaning in to kiss him.

Shuichi paused to take a sip of his wine. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Kokichi glanced at him. “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been dizzy since the power went out.” He said, drinking his wine as well.

Shuichi’s eyes widened. “You have? Should you even be drinking this wine then? Shouldn’t you lying down?” 

“Shubear, I’m fine.” Kokichi began eating his ramen.

Shuichi hesitated, but didn’t say anything after that. He ate his ramen silently and watched what Kokichi had put on the TV. He let his tics get to him, tearing skin off of his lip, tapping his foot, tugging on some strands of hair. 

“Shuichi.” Kokichi’s stern voice broke through his mind. “Calm down. I’ll try to take it easy, okay? I won’t faint again. We still don’t know what’s causing it, but it’s not hurting me physically.”

“But it’s hurting you and me mentally! I can't take it anymore, Kokichi!” 

“And you think I can? I have to constantly worry that you’re okay and I have to be careful so you don’t freak out!” Kokichi stood very suddenly, but quickly fell to his knees. 

“Kokichi!” Shuichi cried, scrambling to the space next to his sweetheart. 

“Get away from me!” Kokichi shouted, his hand shakily raising to slap Shuichi away from him. Shuichi whimpered, retreating away on his hands like an injured animal. Kokichi clenched his teeth together and growled, biting the skin of his thumb roughly. “God damnit! I messed everything up again!” He roared. 

“K-Kokichi, please, calm down.” Shuichi croaked. “You’re going . . . you’re going to hurt yourself.” 

Kokichi froze, his hands clenched into fists as he balled up the material. “Just . . . get away from me. Leave me alone.”

“Kokichi, I can’t leave you alone, what if you get hurt-“

“Leave me alone, Shuichi! Go hang out with someone else!” 

Shuichi stared at him for a few seconds before standing and letting out a frustrated yell. “Fine! I hope you get hurt and nobody comes to help you!” He screamed, storming out of the house and slamming the door. His first instinct was to go outside, and so he did. It was still storming out.

The rain was coming down so hard it was like he was getting pinched all over. He screamed and screamed until his throat was raw and abused. For a while he just stood in the rain and cried. He felt dramatic, and usually he would go to Kokichi for comfort, but he doesn’t want to see him anymore.

When he went back inside, he had a pounding headache and was dripping wet. He ended up at Korekiyo’s door. He didn’t even look to see who answered before letting out a hard sob and falling into their chest.

It was Korekiyo. He didn’t even ask Shuichi about what happened, and just rubbed his back. “There, there, Shuichi. Rantaro, can you get him some dry clothes? Come, Shuichi, sit down and try to breathe.” 

Chiaki rushed up to Shuichi. “What happened? Where’s Kokichi? Is he okay?” The questions only made Shuichi cry harder as he sat down.

Hajime shushed Chiaki and told her to stop with the questions. 

Rantaro came back with dry clothes and told Shuichi to go into the bathroom and change. He nodded, and did as he was told. When he walked back into the living room and had calmed himself, Rantaro was cooking, Korekiyo was reading, and Hajime and Chiaki sat on the couch. 

Korekiyo closed his book and patted the seat next to him. “Come sit, Shuichi. How about you tell us what happened? Rantaro’s making sushi.”

“I just ate, I’m okay.” Shuichi fiddled with his shirt. 

“Okay, well what happened? Is Kokichi okay?” Chiaki leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, one hand holding her gaming device.

“Kokichi is fine. He doesn’t want to see me right now. We got in a fight.” 

“About what?” Rantaro asked from the kitchen. 

“His health. I said some irrational things, and he doesn’t want to see me right now.” Shuichi was embarrassed just thinking about it. He was worried over Kokichi. What if he got back home and Kokichi was unconscious?

Shuichi turned his head towards the rain stained window and sighed. “I don’t know what to do. I really don’t have an answer.”

Chiaki placed her hand over his and smiled warmly, “You’re a detective aren’t you, Shuichi? You’ll think of something.” 

Shuichi bitterly smiled and wiped away at the few salty tears that remained on his cheeks. “Yeah, but I’m still in training.” He joked softly. 

“I think we’re all in training.” Hajime dryly chuckled. “Life beats you to the ground on a daily basis sometimes.” 

“Kokichi doesn’t like what I do, but he doesn’t work so he has to deal with it all the time. He asked me to work from home the other day, basically.” 

“We don’t have to talk about Kokichi anymore. Let’s just relax and hang out! Wanna play some video games?” Chiaki practically vibrated where she sat in excitement.

Shuichi cracked a smile and nodded. “Okay. That sounds good.” 

—————————————————————

Shuichi left Korekiyo’s apartment after many competitive games of Mario Kart. 

When he entered his and Kokichi’s apartment, he was greeted by his boyfriend in only his boxers, surrounded by several empty wine glasses and one full one. 

“My kitten is finally home.” Kokichi’s words were low and sultry. 

“Are you drunk?” Shuichi’s scrunched his nose up at the stench of red wine.

“Nah. I’ve just been sitting here all alone, waiting for my baby boy to come back.” He purred, his lips stretching into a smirk. Kokichi stood and walked over to him with a wine glass in hand, swinging his hips.

“Kokichi, we should talk about what happened.” Shuichi frowned when his drunk boyfriend pressed the glass to Shuichi’s lips. 

“Shhh . . . how about we just get in bed, naughty boy. I’m getting kinda horny.” Kokichi growled into his ear, his free hand trailing up Shuichi’s hip.

“Kokichi! Please, just back off and calm down! We’re going to go to bed and you’re going to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.” 

Kokichi’s hand began traveling lower and lower until it hovered over his crotch. “Come on, Shuichi. Lighten up a little.”

Shuichi grabbed his wrist and pulled it away, dragging him into their bedroom and not bothering to clean up Kokichi’s mess. “I would be taking advantage of you if I agreed. Which I‘m not.”

“Not if I want it. My kitten is being so mean.” Kokichi whined, beginning to cry. 

“Kokichi, please. We’re just going to go to bed. We can do anything and everything in the morning.” Shuichi soothed him with a lie, gently guiding him to lie down.

Kokichi seemed to like that and nodded, salty tears still trailing down his cheeks. “Okay.” 

Shuichi sat next to him in their bed until Kokichi fell asleep. It wasn’t long until he finally closed his eyes and didn’t open them again. When Kokichi did fall asleep, Shuichi allowed himself to cry again.

He was worried that Kokichi was only calm because he was drunk. He was worried that when Kokichi woke up, he would remember and be angry at him again. 

He wiped at his hot tears and laid down above the covers. He cried and watched Kokichi sleep until drifting off into his own dream world.


	18. Anime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Kokichi watch anime with the gang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late and short chapter.

Kokichi was already awake when Shuichi opened his eyes and sat up.

“Good morning, Shuichi.” 

Shuichi warily looked over at his boyfriend. “Are you finally coherent enough to actually talk about what happened?” 

Kokichi rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty hungover, but yeah.” 

Shuichi didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “I’m so sorry . . . for what I said to you. And I’m sorry for worrying so much. I didn’t mean to make you hate me. I didn’t mean for you get irritated.”

Kokochi sighed, running a hand over his face. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin was sickly. “Just drop it, Shuichi. I don’t care.” He muttered. 

Shuichi grit his teeth together. “No! You need to care!” He cried out. “If you don’t accept my apology or kiss me or something, I won’t be able to live with myself.” He blubbered. 

Kokichi stared at Shuichi with shocked eyes. He froze in place as Shuichi buried himself in his chest. 

“Please. Say something.” The detective hiccuped. 

Kokichi tangled his hand in Shuichi’s hair comfortingly. “I . . . ” Kokichi bit his lower lip, his other hand going to wrap around Shuichi’s waist. 

Shuichi’s breath hitched. He knew whatever Kokichi said next would weigh on his shoulders. 

“I think you need to stop being such a wet blanket.” Kokichi snorted. He instantly began cackling. “It was all an act, y-you . . . you idiot!” The purple haired man was wiping his face of hysterical tears that were spilling from his eyes. 

Shuichi smiled softly. So he had forgiven him. 

With a final few chuckles and snorts, Kokichi finished his scene. “Oh god, Shuichi. You should’ve seen your face! I love tormenting you!” 

Shuichi could see right through him though. Kokichi was sincere about his actions, his tense stature wasn’t an attempt at pulling the wool over his eyes. It was the truth. 

Suddenly Kokichi’s phone began vibrating. With one eyebrow raised he answered it. “What do you want, mask man?” He huffed. 

So Korekiyo’s calling, Shuichi deduced. 

After a few moments of silence from a Kokichi, he responded to whatever Korekiyo was saying. “Yeah, we’ll be there.” Then he hung up. 

“What did he want?” Shuichi asked, his hands fumbling in his lap. 

“It’s anime night at his house. Binge-watching, I guess.” Kokichi shrugged. 

“I have work tomorrow.” Shuichi blinked. 

“Wet blanket!” Kokichi sing-songed as he untangled himself from the bed sheets and walked out into the living room. 

“K-Kokichi!” Shuichi scrambled after his boyfriend. Kokichi was rumbling in the pile of movies they had. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m looking for our pick for the anime night, Shubear.” Kokichi hummed. “Howl’s Moving Castle? Dead Apple, maybe?” The supreme leader mumbled his selections out loud. 

“How about Spirited Away? It’s a classic and I’m sure everyone will like it.” Shuichi suggested. 

Kokichi grinned, “Looks like you were finally an asset to social events for once!” 

“Why are you being so mean today?” Shuichi sighed as Kokichi took the movie and tossed it over his shoulder carelessly. 

“Oh I haven’t forgotten about what happened, so I’m just bothering you for the rest of the day.” Kokichi hummed. “Anyways, should I wear my Danny Devito #1 Fan shirt or . . . ” 

Shuichi groaned. “Please just dress normally, Kokichi.” 

——————————————————

The time finally came for the anime night, and the couple set out towards Korekiyo’s apartment.

Shuichi had gone out and bought some snacks for the event. He got pocky, konpeito, and yukimi daifuku. Very sugar filled candies.

Kokichi actually put some presentable clothes on after Shuichi had relentlessly begged him to. And so they were off to the mysterious apartment two doors down. 

Just as Kokichi was about to knock on the door however, it peeled back revealing Korekiyo. 

“Come in! The others have already arrived!” He announced brightly, his face aglow with excitement. 

Shuichi smiled at his friend’s excitement and took Kokichi’s hand in his as they walked inside. He looked around the living room to see where everyone was sitting. Blankets were spread all across the floor.

Gundham and Souda were sitting in the middle of the couch, Souda practically compressed to Gundham’s side and sharing one drink between them both. Taka was sitting on the floor, wearing pajamas, with his back flat against the couch and sitting with his legs crossed, his hands folded neatly on top of them. Next to him was Mondo with his arm around Taka’s shoulders. Hajime and Chiaki sat by the side of the couch, Chiaki in his lap and playing a video game before they started. Rantaro sat in a beanbag chair to the right of the couch, snacks littering his feet. Korekiyo walked back in after Shucihi and Kokchi and plopped himself on Rantaro’s lap.

“Are we read to get started?”

Shuichi tugged Kokichi down with him and leaned against the couch. “I’m ready if everyone else is.” 

“Wait! What did everyone bring to watch?” Taka turned his head all around the room to pierce his friends with his red gaze.

Souda held up a DVD case. “We brought Ponyo even though Gundham didn’t want to.” He smirked. 

Gundham crossed his arms. “It’s unrealistic! Hellish beasts do not simply become mortals.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes and pursing his lips. 

Hajime raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Gundham. “But . . . it’s all fictional.” 

“For all we know everything could be fictional. Video game animals are simply not realistic.”

“Doesn’t Souda play video games? You don’t play with him?” 

“Indeed. Kazuichi talks with his other mortal friends through a speaker. It’s like a ritual of some sort at a certain time every night.” 

Souda cackled, his sharp teeth gleaming in the TV’s light. “You watch me play every night! And you shout strategies at me.” He held his stomach and wiped a tear from his eye.

Gundham growled and harrumphed. “Be quiet, Kazuichi.” 

Mondo rolled his eyes. “Taka and I brought My Hero Academia.”

Taka nodded his head furiously. “Oh, yes! That movie is very interesting. I like the class rep!” 

Korekiyo chuckled softly. “My lovers and I have picked out Wolf Children for us to watch tonight.”

Souda perked up at that. “Hey, Gundham and I have seen that movie before. We watched it with Fuyuhiko!”

Rantaro smiled and stroked Korekiyo’s hair. “Are we finally going to get started now?”

Kokichi basically vibrated where he sat. “Yes! Let’s get started!” 

___________________________________________________________________________

By the time the second movie ended, Hajime and Chiaki had both fallen asleep. Souda had eaten most of the snacks that were scattered across the blankets, and Gundham was ranting about the inconsistencies within the movies. 

“May we watch My Hero Academia now?” Taka blushed, fumbling his hands together shyly. Mondo smiled at his boyfriend and tightened his grip around his shoulders. 

“Yeah, babe. I’m sure the others won’t mind.” Mondo glanced at the others with narrowed eyes. Shuichi gulped, he sure didn’t want to anger the biker, so he nodded. 

—————————————————————

After My Hero Academia ended, Taka and Mondo had both fallen asleep, Taka in Mondo’s arms. 

Souda had dozed off in the middle of the movie, his hands clutching Gundham’s left arm. Gundham looked as if he were struggling to stay awake with every second that passer. Eventually, he did fall asleep with his head against Sousa’s shoulder.

The remaining four awake out of the group of ten started the third movie. Barely twenty minutes passed and Rantaro fell asleep, shortly followed by a sleepy Korekiyo and Kokichi. 

Shuichi finished the movie with strained eyes. Kokichi’s arms were tight around his waist as he slowly turned around and wrapped his own arms around Kokichi, placing a kiss on his forehead.

He was awake until about two in the morning before slowly drifting off to the credit scenes continuously playing.


End file.
